A local court here has ordered the release of a frozen sum of ₹20 lakh in favour of a person who slipped into coma following a stroke upon learning that he had been fleeced by impersonators.
The case pertains to a massive fraud wherein the victim, Tapan Kumar Mohanty, a wholesale seller of eggs and chicken, was given the false promise that he could buy Puri’s Hotel Nilachal Ashok, an iconic hotel built in 1983. The hotel, a property of the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), a public sector undertaking (PSU), is located close to the Raj Bhavan in Puri.
In this case, accused Anikesh Sahu, impersonating as a contractor for different ITDC projects; Chandan Akash Mohanty, who was introduced as a senior ITDC official; and Bikash Moharana, another fraudster, have been arrested.
