Balasore: Illegal broker houses of various insurance companies have been operating and fleecing people in various parts of Balasore district, a report said.
Such offices are running without signage amid allegation that people in rural pockets are lured over telephone calls to the offices.
The offices are functioning without trade and labour licenses. Neither the district administration nor the police are aware of such fraudulent brokering agencies while gullible people end up being cheated.
Over 20 such illegal brokering houses are operating in Balasore. Here is a case in point. One such insurance brokering office is located on the outskirts of Balasore. Sarada Prasad Barik, a staff of the office, has allegedly misappropriated Rs 25,800 from a resident of Nuasahi in Kendrapara district on the pretext of giving a buying an insurance policy for him.
The fraud came to light when a complaint was lodged with Balasore branch office of the insurance company.
That is not the only case. Barik has allegedly duped lakhs of rupees from several other persons.
A case (3126/18) was moved at the SDJM court too in this regard.
It was learnt that Barik has misappropriated lakhs of rupees in north Odisha as an agent of Brilliant Insurance.
He has opened 15 to 20 broker houses in Balasore town while many youths have been engaged in the offices. The staff attired smartly has been trained to impress the people with fluent English and broken Hindi and Odia.
As part of their modus operandi, his staff usually throngs crowded places like filling stations and other busy spots persuading people to buy branded items and even promising incentives on lucky draws.
Couples are invited to the offices for lucky draw and later tricked into investing in insurance policies, it was alleged.
Locals demanded action against such illegal insurance brokering agencies.
PNN