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‘Social service’ body does a vanishing act

BERHAMPUR: With innovative trick, an alleged fraudulent organisation duped the poor and the physically-challenged persons and cornered lakhs of rupees.

Hundreds of victims of the organisation, including women, reached the office of the Berhampur Superintendent of Police on Saturday and handed over a memorandum to him demanding arrest of the persons behind the cheating.

According to the police, the head of the organisation, I. Satya Rao, is absconding.

According to Narmada Purohit, a victim, they were conned by the tall promises of social work by the alleged fraudulent organisation. Around two months ago, Rao along with some other persons opened an office of the organisation ‘Amma Services’ at Premnagar area of the city. It had promised to provide free rice, sugar and dal to the poor and physically-challenged persons if they would become members of the organisation.

To become a member one had to deposit only Rs. 365 for a year. As the amount was not much, most poor families got trapped by the lure, said Krushna Chandra Patro, a victim.

The organisation expanded its operation throughout the city and its outskirts through the network marketing strategy where the existing members were promised commission if they could get new members.

Some initial members of the organisation did get their quota of five kilo of rice for the first month which increased the interest of other members down the chain of the marketing network of the organisation.

Suddenly the organisation and people related to it vanished.

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