The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Crime Branch presented Soumyashankar, also known as Raja Chakra, the prime accused in the Gandhamardhan Loading and Transport Cooperative Society’s alleged financial irregularities and a multi-crore scam.
This case stems from allegations made by complainant Bishwanath Raul regarding the misappropriation and embezzlement within the mining sector. The Crime Branch had earlier arrested several individuals connected to the case, including the cooperative society’s former president Manas Ranjan Barik and secretary Utkal Das.
Further investigations revealed allegations of over ₹33 crores being disbursed to cooperative society members as support, ₹74 crore expenditure for labour payments, and mismanagement of funds exceeding ₹100 crores. Raja Chakra’s associates, including Sameer Jena, Sadashiv Samal, Prabhat Pattnayak, Sudhanshu Sekhar Nayak, and Sushant Samal, have also been questioned about the case.
Currently, Raja Chakra is held at Balasore Jail, and no applications have been filed for either bail or remand at the court. Investigations by the Crime Branch continue into this high-profile case.
