Bhubaneswar, April 19: A chargesheet on the multi-crore Astha chit fund scam was submitted before a special court of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) here on Monday. .
The CBI submitted the preliminary chargesheet before the Chief Judicial Magistrate of the central investigation agency against Subhransu Lenka, CS Chouhan and Santosh Sapkale. Further in the chargesheet, the CBI mentioned a financial fraud of the group amounting to Rs 66 crore, said sources.
On April 13, the CBI had conducted raid at four places in the country including one at Jagatsinghpur, in the State in connection with Astha chit fund fraud. Notably, a special court in Cuttack in September had directed the State government to auction the properties of the Astha Group of Companies and distribute the sale proceeds equitably among investors, who were allegedly duped by the company.
The court allowed the government to sell the properties as the Gujarat-based company did not respond to the court summons. A total of 43 acres of land owned by the company in Odisha and neighbouring West Bengal, a building worth Rs 1.8 crore and a Mercedes car have so far been taken into Government possession, while the State head of the Astha Group Shubhransu Lenka is currently lodged in Jharpada Special Jail here, said sources.
