Pramod Kumar Sahoo arrested in Rs 15 crore housing scam

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Odisha Police has arrested Pramod Kumar Sahoo, a former director of the real estate firm M/s Mishra Creations Pvt Ltd. The arrest is linked to an alleged fraud exceeding Rs 15 crore involving the ‘UTOPIA’ housing project in Chandaka.

The investigation follows a complaint from Swadesh Ray Chaudhury, who alleged that he and several other investors were cheated after booking flats in the project. In one instance, a buyer paid a Rs 16 lakh advance in 2016 via a bank loan, but the company failed to deliver the property or refund the money within the promised 30-month period.

Investigators found that Sahoo played an active role in promoting the project, facilitating bookings, and assisting with housing loan formalities alongside co-accused individuals Jyoti Ranjan Mishra and Santosh Kumar Rath. Evidence showed that Rs 16,51,400 was transferred from the company’s account into Sahoo’s personal bank account. Sahoo has been produced before the Designated Court under the Odisha Protection of Interests of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act at Kataka.