Former YSR Congress MLA arrested by Odisha police in chit fund scam

A team of EOW officials on Monday raided the ex-MLA’s residence and office in Visakhapatnam and seized ₹45 lakh.

Updated on: Sep 7, 2021, 21:06:55 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Odisha Police on Tuesday arrested Malla Vijay Prasad, a former MLA of Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSR Congress) and chairman of Andhra Pradesh Education and Welfare Infrastructure Development Corporation, over his alleged involvement in a chit fund scam worth ₹1,200 crore, officials said.

The former MLA used to lure people with false promises of returning a high rate of interest on deposits. (File photo.)

Officials of the Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of Odisha police said Welfare Building & Estates Pvt. Ltd. was essentially a chit fund company of which Malla was the managing director. He lured people with false promises of returning a high rate of interest on deposits under different schemes of the company and unauthorisedly collected at least ₹1,200 crore from several investors before closing offices.

“The company initially registered with the Registrar of Companies, Hyderabad and subsequently changed to Kolkata in 2011. It had its head office at Visakhapatnam. Between 2009 and 2014, Malla’s company was operating its branch offices in Bhubaneswar, Narsinghpur (Cuttack) and Nayagarh. It has been ascertained that M/s Welfare Building & Estates Pvt. Ltd. was also active in Berhampur, Jeypore, Similiguda, Bhadrak, Balasore and some coastal areas of Odisha where it collected a huge amount of money from people,” said DIG of Economic Offences Wing, JN Pankaj.

A team of EOW officials on Monday raided his residence and office in Visakhapatnam and seized ₹45 lakh and several documents.

Malla was charged under sections 420, 406, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the India Penal Code read with sections 4,5 & 6 of PC & Money Collection Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978 / Sec 6 of Odisha Protection of Interests of Depositors Act.

Mala was first produced before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Visakhapatnam on Monday and before the Court of OPID, Cuttack, on Tuesday.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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