Sambalpur: The district police here Tuesday busted a fake racket running in the name of Sambalpur Development Authority (SDA). Five people were arrested on charges of issuing forged building plan approval letters on behalf of the SDA. The accused were identified as assistant clerk of SDA, Lakshminarayan Samal alias Bulu, the mastermind of the racket, Sudhansu Kishore Pati of Jhaduapada, Ajay Kumar Behera of Kainsir under Ainthapali police limits, Bikash Jagat of Badmal village under Charmal police limits and Damodar Tripathy, a priest and resident of Kulutkani undeDhanupali police limits.
Police also seized Rs 3,31,97,227 crore from the bank accounts of the accused, two cars, motorcycles, computers, land pattas (RoR), stamp papers and documents of houses and plots. Keeping the planning officer Bandita Mohapatra in the dark, the accused used to forge her signature, use seals and fake letterheads and give approval for the construction of buildings and bank loans to the applicants. This was stated Tuesday by SP Mukesh Kumar Bhamoo at a press conference held at the district police headquarters here. Police started a probe into the matter after Mohapatra smelled a rat and lodged a complaint August 18 at Khetrajpur police station.
Police said that the accused were issuing forged approval plans to the applicants in exchange of kickbacks ranging from Rs 1,00,000 to Rs 4,00,000. During investigation, police found that the accused had defrauded a person of Rs 21 lakh.
Police said that most of the amounts were deposited in the bank account of the priest and added that 54 persons had fallen prey to this racket. The SP said that it is a case of organised crime and cases have been registered for forgery and cheating after the arrest of the five accused. The accused were not only cheating people but also causing revenue loss to the government. The culprits used to purchase plots at various places and construct luxurious buildings and then sell those at exorbitant prices.