Agartala, May 31: In a significant ruling, a special court of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Tripura has convicted a private company, Pragati Sheel Infra Projects and Services Limited, along with three of its top officials. The court found them guilty of fraud and embezzlement involving millions of rupees.
The CBI court, located in West Tripura district, sentenced the company’s Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Arindam Das, Director Paritosh Das, and Administrative Director Deepashikha Chakraborty to six years of rigorous imprisonment each. Additionally, each defendant was fined three lakh rupees, while the company was penalized with a financial fine of seven lakh rupees.
This case involves investors who had put their hard-earned money into various deposit schemes offered by the company but did not receive their funds back even after the maturity period had elapsed.
Previously, in compliance with notifications from the Tripura government and the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) of the Government of India, a case was registered at Kailashahar police station on April 30, 2012. The CBI re-registered the case for further investigation on October 8, 2013. During the investigation, it was revealed that the company’s officials had collected deposits from a large number of investors, including the complainant, but failed to make payments later. The accused were alleged to have embezzled approximately five to six crore rupees collected from the public as deposits.
Following a thorough investigation by the CBI, the agency filed a charge sheet against Arindam Das, Paritosh Das, Deepashikha Chakraborty, and Pragati Sheel Infra Projects and Services Limited on May 28, 2018.
After a lengthy trial and examination of evidence, the court found all defendants guilty and issued a sentencing order.
The special judge (CBI) in West Tripura district, Agartala, also issued important directives considering the interests of the investors. The court ordered that if the fines imposed on the defendants are collected, the amount should be sent to designated officials for proportional distribution among the affected depositors through the District Magistrate and Collector of Unakoti District, Kailashahar.
Furthermore, the court directed the district administration to ensure fair and proportional distribution of the funds based on the needs of various subdivisions.
Additionally, the court requested competent authorities to utilize available legal provisions to recover the embezzled amounts from the seized properties of the accused. The recovered amounts should be proportionally distributed among all identified depositors and investors who have yet to receive their deposits back.
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