Chit fund CBI probe slow: Activist group

BHUBANESWAR: A group working for the benefit of chit fund scam victims, Arthika Sansthamanankadwara Kshatigrastanka Milita Manch, on Monday alleged that CBI probe into the scam was going at a snail's pace.
The manch said the Odisha police and the Crime Branch had registered more than 250 cases against different chit fund companies. Later, the CBI took over the probe and started investigation against 44 major Ponzi firms in May 2014.
The CBI has not even finished filing chargesheets against half of the total companies. "If the probe moves so slowly, when will the poor investors get back their money?" wondered manch convener Jayanta Das.
He said the CBI needs to speed up the probe. Three agencies - police, Crime Branch and CBI - are probing all the chit fund cases.
Das said the auctioning of attached properties of fraud companies should be made in a proper way. He also said they would start an awareness drive between January 20 and February 20 to sensitize investors to file cases before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) to get back their money cheated by the fraudulent firms.
Das said around one lakh investors had filed consumer cases against 21 firms before the commission by the end of July. The commission has heard cases against seven companies and would start hearing in other cases very soon, he added. "We will intensify our agitation against the state government for delaying the process of returning money to the duped investors," said Das.