ORDER

1. The petitioner who is posted as Deputy Superintendent of Police, District Intelligence Bureau (DIB), Nayagarh under the State Government has approached this Court in an application under S. 438, Cr. P.C. apprehending arrest in connection with CBI/SCB/KOL Case No. R.C. 47/S2014-KOL. dated 5-6-2014 registered under Ss. 120-B, 294, 341, 406, 420, 467, 468, 471, 506 read with S. 34, Indian Penal Code and Ss. 3, 4 and 5 of Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978 which arises out of Kharavelnagar P.S. Case No. 44 dated 7-2-2013 and other cases registered against the officials of Artha Tatwa Group of Companies at different police stations in the State of Odisha.

As it appears the aforesaid Kharvelnagar P.S. Case No. 44 of 2013 was instituted on the First Information Report submitted by one Sri Sukumar Panigrahi before the Inspector-in-charge, Kharvelnagar Police Station, Bhubaneswar on 7-2-2013 and the case was registered under Ss. 420, 120-B and 406, Indian Penal Code against 13 accused persons namely Pradeep Sethy, Manoj Pattnaik, Lakhia Sahoo, Satyabrat Padhi, P.K. Swain, Krushna Padhi, Sambit Lenka, Ashok Kar, Jhuma Chakrabarti, Partha Sarathi Mohapatra, Mrunmaya Sial, Jugajyoti Majhi and Abinash Pradhan.

It is the gist of the F.I.R. that the informant Sukumar Panigrahi deposited a sum of Rs. 18.00 lakhs in Artha Tatwa Multi Purpose Co-operative Society Ltd. (hereinafter for short ATMPCS) situated at SCR-29, Unit-III, Kharvelnagar, Bhubaneswar under monthly income plan of the said company phasewise by way of five cheques. The company returned rupees one lakh to the informant after much persuasion. The company issued money receipts and monthly income plan bonds in favour of the informant authorising him to receive 1% interest on the deposits monthly with understanding to give another 2% in the form of bonus i.e., total 3% on the deposits monthly. After the maturity period of one year, the bonds were to be surrendered and the principal amount would have to be paid back. The interest and the bonus were to be paid monthly till the maturity. It is the case of the informant that after paying interest for a few months, the company unilaterally stopped paying further interest on the plea of income-tax raid and absence of Chief Managing Director Pradeep Kumar Sethy. Subsequently the Director of the Company namely Pradeep Kumar Sethy and other important functionary Directors Manoj Pattnaik, Satyabrat Padhi, Lakhia Sahoo, P. K. Swain, Krushna Padhi, Sambit Lenka, Jhuma Chakrabarti, Jubajyoti Majhi and others absconded and the office of the company was closed. The informant was confirmed that the said company through its Chief Managing Director Pradeep Kumar Sethy and other Directors have cheated him dishonestly in deceitful manner and misappropriated Rs. 17 lakhs by fraudulent means.

During investigation of Kharvelnagar P.S. Case No. 44 of 2013, it revealed that a non-banking financial company under caption of AT Group of Companies with its headquarter at SCR-29, Unit-III, Kharvelnagar was running its business with its branch offices in various places in Odisha including Lewis Road, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Balasore, Baripada, Dhenkanal, Berhampur etc. and Mr. Pradeep Kumar Sethy was the President of the said Artha Tatwa Multi Co-operative Society Ltd., Artha Tatwa State Credit Co-operative Society. AT Group of Companies was also running its business through various companies. The registration of the Artha Tatwa Multi Purpose Co-operative Society was granted on 3-11-2011 by the Asst. Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Bhubaneswar Circle, Bhubaneswar. Artha Tatwa Multi State Credit Co-operative Society Ltd. was formed in September, 2011. It was also found out that the company made wide propaganda, awareness programme, distributed leaflets, circulated brochures through agents to attract investors to deposit money in different schemes floated by the Company. The aforesaid two Co-operative Societies collected funds fr