The corporate office of the real estate company, Hi-Tech Group, in Odisha was sealed by the crime branch police in an alleged land fraud case.
"We have sealed the head office to protect the interest of the people who have deposited money in the Hi-Tech Group," Crime Branch DIG Rajesh Kumar said.
He said depositors would be entitled to get some returns of their investment through liquidation if a new law was enacted.
Hi-Tech Group lawyer P Sahu termed as illegal the sealing of the office.
"How can the agency seal the office without the court's permission when the matter is sub-judice?" the lawyer asked.
The DIG said the sealing of the office was part of the investigation.
The Crime Branch had on December 25 last year arrested the chief of the company, Tirupati Panigrahi and two of his associates, Tirupati Choudhury and Madhusudan Panigrahi for allegedly duping land buyers of their money.
Three of them are still in judicial custody.
