After knocking the doors of several courts for over five months seeking anticipatory bail and regular bail, the beleaguered Banki MLA Pravat Kumar Tripathy was granted conditional bail by Orissa High Court on Tuesday.
Tripathy was arrested by the CBI on October 31 last year for his alleged links with chit fund company Arthatatwa (AT) Group and with its CMD Pradeep Sethy.
Soon after the bail was granted to Tripathy, his supporters at Banki, about 40 km from here, erupted in celebrations bursting crackers and distributing sweets.
Tripathy, a former chief whip of BJD in Odisha Assembly, was suspended from the party immediately after his arrest last year.
Justice Raghivir Dash, who had reserved his verdict after completing hearing on February 24, pronounced the verdict on the day allowing the MLA to go on bail after depositing an amount of Rs 10 lakh in any nationalised bank and furnishing a property surety having solvency of Rs 10 lakh.
Tripathy has also been asked by the High Court to cooperate with the investigating officer during the interim bail period and shall not influence the witnesses or tamper with the evidences. Although, the High Court in its order has asked Tripathy to surrender his passport with the CBI, the same is already with the CBI, informed his counsel H.K. Mund.
In its preliminary charge sheet to the Court, the CBI, which is investigating into the money trail aspect of the multi-crore chit fund scam in Odisha, has charged the MLA for taking Rs 42 lakh from AT Group chief Sethy. The MLA had allegedly taken the money while he was president of Odisha State Cooperative Union to extend patronage to Sethy.
