Bhubaneswar, August 31: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has successfully apprehended a fugitive accused of embezzling over ₹17 crore from depositors in Odisha’s chit fund scam. The arrest took place on Sunday, as confirmed by an official from the agency.
Debabrata Dutta, the former owner of DNB Food Processing Private Limited, was captured in Siliguri, West Bengal. Prior to his arrest, the CBI stated that Dutta had not cooperated with the investigation.
The agency further revealed that Dutta was declared a fugitive under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978, following an indictment filed on December 26, 2022. A non-bailable warrant (NBW) was issued against him on August 5, 2024.
Based on intelligence, the accused was located and arrested in Siliguri on Friday. The CBI announced that he is being brought back on transit remand and will be presented before a competent court in Bhubaneswar.
In a separate case, the CBI arrested a proclaimed offender (PO) on August 21. This individual had been evading capture for nearly 23 years in a case involving the criminal misappropriation of goods worth ₹9 lakh from trucks transporting merchandise.
According to a statement released by the CBI, the agency’s persistent efforts led to the arrest of Roop Singh. Previously, co-accused Arjun Singh was apprehended on November 7, 2025, after being on the run for about 22 years.
The CBI’s investigation began with a case registered at the Amalner police station in Maharashtra on October 4, 1998. The case involved allegations of theft and misappropriation of goods, including ghee and moong, loaded on two trucks.
It was alleged that on September 27, 1998, truck drivers Babu Khan and Aslam Khan committed theft and embezzlement of the goods. The Bombay High Court in Aurangabad directed the immediate transfer of the case to the CBI on February 25, 2002, following a criminal writ petition filed on November 27, 2000.
Consequently, the CBI re-registered the case on April 5, 2002, as a matter of theft and criminal misappropriation involving the goods from the two trucks. The case was transferred to the central agency in 2002, leading to action against Babu Khan, Aslam Khan, and others.
The CBI reported that after thorough investigation, it filed a chargesheet on December 19, 2003, in the JMFC court in Amalner against Roop Singh, Arjun Singh, Babu Khan, and Aslam Khan for crimes related to criminal misappropriation, conspiracy, and instigation.
The investigation revealed that Roop Singh and Arjun Singh conspired with the two truck drivers to criminally misappropriate the goods intended for delivery to another party.
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