New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: The CBI yesterday conducted searches at 60 locations, including the residence of a Biju Janata Dal (BJD) legislator, in connection with Rs10,000-crore Saradha chit fund scam, an official said.
“The Central Bureau of Investigation conducted searches at six locations in Mumbai (Maharashtra), Behrampur (Odisha), Balasore (Odisha) and 54 places at Bhubaneswar (Odisha),” an official said in New Delhi.
“The searches were conducted at the office and residential premises of Odisha based group of companies, its directors and other office bearers and also of those companies who had close links with the group,” said the official.
The official added that searches were also conducted at the residence of BJD legislator Pravat Tripathy and five others, including Ashirbad Behera, secretary of Odisha Cricket Association.
“The office and residence of a Mumbai-based stock broker, who had allegedly obtained license from SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) and MCX stock exchange for the Odisha based group of companies, and one television serial producer was also searched,” said the official.
During searches, the CBI seized several incriminating documents relating to various business transactions with the concerned companies. The agency had conducted similar searches on August 14 in 28 locations. The agency has till now registered 44 cases in Odisha and four in West Bengal in the chit fund scam on the directions of the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court had handed over the Saradha chit fund scam case to the CBI in May 2014 and asked the state governments to provide all logistical help to the agency.
Similarly, the residence of former Youth Congress leader Sambit Khuntia at Khurdha was also raided. Khuntia was a director in the tainted AT group. Khuntia has been taken into custody for interrogation, sources said in Bhubaneswar.
The CBI sleuths also raided the houses of Odisha Jan Morcha leader Jagneswar Babu, newspaper owner Bikash Swain, mines owner and television channel owner Manoj Das and builder Satyabrata Dhir in Odisha.
West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) dubbed the ongoing CBI probe into the scam as “politics”, attracting criticism from political rivals. “What is happening now is politics, earlier it was an endeavour to return the money to the investors,” said Trinamool leader and state Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim when asked to comment about the CBI probe.
Led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the TMC vehemently opposed the intervention of the Central Bureau of Investigation before the Supreme Court in May directed the agency to takeover the investigation from the state police.
IANS
