Bhubaneswar: Former BJD minister Nrusingha Charan Sahu’s son Ajit Kumar was arrested from his residence in Bhubaneswar’s Nayapalli area on Friday on charges of duping BJP Rajya Sabha member Sujeet Kumar in an alleged land fraud case involving Rs 25 lakh.Ajit, however, refuted the charges.Police said a cheating case was registered against Ajit at Delhi’s Tughlaq Road police station on July 7, 2024. He allegedly evaded repeated court summonses, prompting the Patiala House court in Delhi to declare him an absconder and issue an arrest warrant. Acting on the warrant, Nayapalli police took him into custody.Police said Sujeet Kumar, during his previous tenure as a BJD Rajya Sabha member, had reportedly paid Ajit Rs 25 lakh to buy a 3,400sqft plot in Cuttack district in 2022. At the time, Ajit’s father was serving as the BJD MLA from Parjanga constituency.When the land was not handed over, the MP sought a refund. “He failed to return my money. Since the agreement was executed in Delhi, I lodged a complaint with the Tughlaq Road police station in July 2024,” he told TOI.Ajit said he did not cheat him. “Neither did I promise to sell any land. I had borrowed money from him purely for business purposes. I have already repaid nearly 75% of the borrowed amount,” Ajit told journalists.Sujeet Kumar had resigned as a BJD MP in Sept 2024 before returning to the Upper House as a BJP nominee following a by-election in Dec 2024, and again in biennial polls in April 2026.
