BHUBANESHWAR: Senior BJD MLA Pravat Ranjan Biswal has been arrested by the CBI in a chit fund scam, evoking a sharp reaction from Odisha's ruling party that today accused the Centre of misusing investigative agencies.
The CBI, probing the multi-crore Seashore Group chit fund scam, called the Cuttack-Choudwar legislator to its office here last night and subsequently arrested him, the agency sources said.
Biswal's brother Arta Ranjan Biswal and lawyer Anup Senapati said the MLA was arrested and kept at CBI's State Headquarters here.
Biswal has been under the CBI scanner for a long time over the purchase of a piece of land from the Seashore chit fund company. He, along with his wife, were interrogated by the investigation agency several times since November, 2014.
Biswal, a three-time MLA, was produced before the court after a medical examination in custody, the sources said.
Soon after reports of Biswal's arrest spread, Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik held a high-level meeting at his residence to discuss the political fallout of the development.
Rajya Sabha MP Pratap Deb, BJD Vice-President Debi Mishra, Finance Minister Sasibhushan Behera, MLAs Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, Sanjay Das Burma and Pranab Prakash Das were among the leaders who attended the meeting at Naveen Niwas.
As several BJD leaders were embroiled in ponzi scheme scam cases, the regional party had earlier suspended Banki MLA Pravat Tripathy and Mayurbhanj MP Ramchandra Hansdah, after they were arrested by the CBI for alleged links to chit fund companies.
"Biswal's arrest appeared to be politically motivated.
It could be a game plan of the BJP as its President Amit Shah had indicated a move on this line during his recent visit to the state. Why CBI did not arrest Biswal earlier though he was interrogated several times in the past?" BJD spokesman and Rajya Sabha MP P K Deb told reporters.
Deb, considered to be a confidante of Patnaik, alleged that Biswal's arrest was made under the pressure of the BJP which is heading the government at the Centre.
"If Biswal is guilty, then he must be brought under the law. But the way he was arrested now raises doubt. The arrest by CBI at this juncture when BJD is fighting against fuel hike creates doubt," Prasanna Acharya, another MP who attended the meeting at Naveen Niwas, said.
He said that it is a clear case of the BJP-led NDA government targeting non-BJP governments, especially in eastern India.
"Our party is in favour of an impartial probe into the scam but it appears that the Centre is misusing CBI and agencies like the Enforcement Directorate but the BJD will fight it out politically," Acharya said.
Senior Congress leader Niranjan Patnaik said that there was no problem if the BJD MLA was arrested over his alleged involvement in the scam but wondered why the CBI took so long to nab Biswal, who has been interrogated several times in the last three years.
The timing of the arrest raises doubts about the CBI misuse by the BJP, he said.
Senior BJP leader K V Singhdeo, however, ruled out any political conspiracy behind Biswal's arrest.
Meanwhile, BJD activists staged a demonstration in Cuttack today, raising slogans against the CBI and the BJP over Biswal's arrest. The youth BJD activists also staged a demonstration protesting Biswal's arrest.
Biju Chhatra Janata Dal, the student wing of the BJD, held a bike rally which headed towards the state capital from Cuttack.
"We will stage demonstration in front of the CBI office,"
said BJD student wing president Chinmay Sahoo.