Hi-Tech land fraud: SC rejects Tirupati’s bail plea again

OST Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Jan 27:

The Supreme Court, for the sixth time, rejected the bail petition of the chairman of Hi-tech Group Tirupati Panigrahi on Monday and asked him to deposit Rs 10 crore within a week and the remaining Rs 50 crore within three months.

The court fixed the next date of hearing on February 7.

The apex court, while rejecting Panigrahi’s bail plea on October 21 last year, had asked him to return the land to the people from whom the company had taken advance money, before applying for bail.

It may be mentioned that Panigrahi along with his two relatives were arrested by the Economic Offences Wing (EoW) of the state Crime Branch on December 25, 2012 for allegedly reneging on the promise of providing residential plots to people after taking money from them in 2009.

The probe by the EOW of the State Crime Branch had revealed that the Hi-tech Group owed more than Rs 315.96 crore to the investors.

The Group received money from 17,181 investors with promise of providing them with residential plots of which about 16,901 investors are yet to get the land till date.

The EOW, so far, has registered at least five cases against the Hi-Tech Group.