Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Police have registered a case against three Congress leaders, including AICC’s state in-charge Ajoy Kumar, for allegedly cheating a businessman to the tune of around Rs 1.42 crore.
The businessman had initially filed a complaint at the Bharatpur police station, which was not registered. He then approached a Bhubaneswar court, seeking its intervention, police said.
On the directive of the court, the Bharatpur police registered a case October 12 and started an investigation, they said.
The case was filed against Kumar, former state Congress president Sarat Pattanayak and senior party leader Biswaranjan Mohanty, a police officer said.
As per the complaint, the Bhubaneswar-based businessman had entered into a deal with Kumar and Pattanayak to supply LED TVs and vehicles for campaigning during the Lok Sabha and assembly elections in Odisha.
The deal was finalised for Rs 1.5 crore, but the Congress leaders allegedly denied him payment of Rs 1.42 crore after the polls, the officer said.
Reacting to the allegations, Pattanayak said he was not aware of the matter and did not sign any such agreement.
“A particular group of people has conspired to defame me,” he alleged.
Mohanty added: “The allegation is false and baseless. I have never met the complainant.”
PTI