Man arrested for defrauding franchise for 2.93cr near Nepal border.

A man, Sachidananda Bhoi, aged 51, has been arrested by Infocity police near the border of West Bengal and Nepal. He has been charged with fraud in connection to a franchise and employment scam that involved a staggering amount of Rs 2.93 crore. It was reported on Sunday by officials.

Bhoi, who hails from Kataka, allegedly presented himself as the CEO and director of Go Speedy Go, a branch of HIFERK Technologies Pvt Ltd located in Patia, Bhubaneswar. He is accused of deceiving multiple individuals into investing in franchisees by making false promises of complete business support, guaranteed returns, and high profits. The accused also allegedly claimed to be the son of former MP Krupasindhu Bhoi to gain the trust of his investors.

He is also said to have recruited many employees by offering them regular salaries. According to the police, Bhoi ran the business for about two months before abruptly shutting down the office and disappearing with the invested money. Despite numerous attempts, the victims were unable to contact him and eventually filed a complaint with the Infocity police station.

Based on the complaint, the police registered a case and began an investigation. After persistent efforts, Bhoi was caught near the West Bengal-Nepal border with the help of Kharibari police. He was then brought to Bhubaneswar on a four-day transit remand, granted by the ACJM Court in Siliguri.

During the investigation, it was discovered that Bhoi had collected a whopping amount of Rs 2.30 crore from franchise holders and had also withheld around Rs 63 lakh in unpaid salaries and other employee dues. He had not fulfilled his promise of business support and had also not paid his employees before disappearing, as per the police. "Besides facing multiple criminal cases at Saheed Nagar, Pahala, and CID Crime Branch police stations, there are also pending consumer complaints and a non-bailable warrant against him," said Zone VI ACP Manas Ranjan Pradhan.

The police stated that they are currently conducting further investigations to track down any other individuals involved in the scam.