Bhubaneswar: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Odisha Crime Branch on Wednesday raided the residence of the Editor of an Odia news channel in the Bhubaneswar over allegations of duping a businessman of more than Rs 90 lakh.
According to reports, Ardhendu Das, Editor of ‘Bada Khabar’ TV news channel, has been accused of duping a Delhi-based businessman of Rs 92.47 lakh.
The EOW had earlier served him notice twice asking him to depose before it. However, he did not appear before the EOW.
The matter came to light after one Gagandeep Singh Chawla, proprietor of Solution Broadcast company, lodged a complaint against Das with the agency.
Gagandeep, in his complaint, alleged that Das had contacted him in the year 2020 for buying equipment for the establishment of his news channel. After which, a deal of over Rs 1 crore was finalised between the them
Das paid Chawla Rs 10 lakh in advance in this regard and it was decided that the remaining amount will be paid within the next six months. However, Das did not pay the remaining amount, the complainant alleged.
Based on the complaint, the EOW registered a case and launched a probe into the incident.
On the other hand, Das has refuted the allegation levelled against him by the businessman and said that most of the equipment was of inferior quality and not usable for broadcast purposes. He further said that most of the costly hardware and software provided by Chawla has been returned.