Chit fund scam back to haunt Odisha Govt

The chit fund scam had left the Government in a spot after party leaders were found under scanner and the Biju Janata Dal was forced to act against several of them.

BHUBANESWAR: The multi-crore chit fund scam is back in focus with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) questioning Subhankar Nayak, a key aide of Seashore Group chief Prashant Dash. CBI quizzed Nayak at its office here on Friday.

Nayak was questioned for ‘certain clarifications’ as part of the investigation, CBI sources said, declining to divulge the details. The agency has filed chargesheet against Dash and others under Section 173(8) of CrPC and further probe is on.

What has set the alarm is Nayak’s quizzing after four years as he was allegedly the conduit between Dash and bureaucrats as well as political leaders. The notes seized from his possession apparently had names of several high-ranking officials and the agency had even quizzed four IPS officers between 2014 and 2016.
The Orissa High Court had granted conditional bail to Nayak in 2017 and he was last questioned by the CBI in Jharpada jail here in 2016. He was also seen in a VIP gallery at Barabati Stadium in a cricket match in 2017 which prompted the embarrassed Government to order a probe.

Seashore Group is one of the 44 ponzi companies in Odisha which came under scanner of CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) following an order of the Supreme Court to probe into their finances and transactions. ED had registered a case against it in 2014.

The chit fund scam had left the Government in a spot after party leaders were found under scanner and the Biju Janata Dal was forced to act against several of them. However, in many cases, children of some of the leaders were given party tickets and they contested successfully in the 2019 elections.

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