Duped investors’ body launches satyagraha in Odisha

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Baripada, Aug 4:

As per its announcement, the Arthika Sanstha Manankadwara Kshyatigrasta Milita Manch, a body of investors who lost money in the Odisha chit fund scam, launched its month-long tehsil level satyagraha from Baripada, the district headquarters of Mayurbhanj, on Monday.

Hundreds of depositors and agents took out a rally from Madhuban Padia to the tehsil office whether they staged a demonstration and held a protest meeting presided over by former MLA Sambhunath Nayak in the presence of Manch’s state adviser Soumya Ranjan Patnaik and former MLA Kishore Das.

“The Manch has launched its month-long satyagraha from the tehsil office in Baripada town as the real proof in the involvement of the ruling Biju Janata Dal in the chit fund scam lies in Baripada with the arrest of its party’s Mayurbhanj MP,” Patnaik told reporters here.

He said despite the arrest of BJD MLAs and MP by the CBI in the chit fund scam, the state government is yet to admit its involvement in the scam.

“The state government has paid deaf ear to the demand of the Manch to conduct tehsil-wise door-to-door survey to identify the investors, find out the money deposited by them in the chit fund companies and return them the deposited amount by confiscating movable and immovable properties of the chit fund companies. That is why the Manch has started the satyagraha, which will continue till September 2,” Patnaik informed.

The Manch has called the satyagraha for fulfillment of its demands which include tehsil-wise, door-to-door survey and identification of duped investors and the chit fund companies involved in fraud, arrest of chit fund company owners by investigating agencies and conviction in the court on the basis of the survey and arrangements for return of depositors’ money by confiscating all movable and immovable properties of these chit fund companies, disclosure of the amount and volume of the seized properties of the chit fund companies for public appraisal, amendment in the existing rules and Acts with provisions for return of total money of the depositors, formulation of laws for stringent punishment to chit fund company owners and a ban on all monetary collection sources of these companies except banks, post offices, life insurance and general insurance till the conclusion of investigations and trial against these Ponzi company owners.

The Manch, since May, 2013, has staged a series of statewide agitations to press for return of depositors’ money.

It also held a demonstration in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar and submitted a memorandum to Finance minister Arun Jaitley demanding changes in laws that would put a heavy cost on such fraudulent operators.