Bhubaneswar: Former MLA of Andhra Pradesh and senior leader of YSR Congress and the current chairman of Andhra Pradesh Education and Welfare Infrastructure Development Corporation, Malla Vijay Prasad was arrested Monday by officials of Odisha police for his alleged involvement in a chit fund scam. A team of officials of the Crime Branch raided Monday his residence and office in Visakhapatnam and seized Rs 45 lakh along with several incriminating documents.
According to sources, Prasad’s Visakhapatnam-based ‘Welfare Group of Companies’ began operations in 2001. The firm afterwards spread its activities to Odisha and Chhattisgarh. People invested money in the company as they were promised huge returns. However, in spite of repeated appeals, they never got their money back.
The firm has allegedly duped investors of around Rs 1,200 crore. The company was active in Berhampur, Jeypore, Similiguda, Bhadrak, Balasore and some coastal areas in Odisha. The victims have lodged cases against the firm at various police stations in Odisha.