: In a major development in the ongoing chit-fund probe in Odisha, Rajya Sabha member Pyari Mohan Mohapatra and MLA Pravat Biswal were grilled by the CBI here on Friday.
Mr. Mohapatra, who was calling the shots in Naveen Patnaik government from 2000 to 2012, was questioned for over four hours. During the long session, he was confronted with Prashant Dash, Chairman and Managing Director of Seashore Group, the tainted ponzi company.
Quizzing of Mr. Mohapatra assumes significance as he was said to be kept in the loop with regards to all major decisions taken by the Odisha government till 2012.
And during the same period, Seashore Group had found a foothold in government sector and was involved in a number of projects proposed under the public private partnership mode.
The CBI suspects that without active support from the BJD, the ruling party, Seashore’s strong collaboration with government establishments would have been a difficult task.
In fact, Seashore’s coming together with government establishments was vital in multiplying the trust among low-income investors.
The Rajya Sabha member, who was thrown out of the BJD after an unsuccessful coup bid on May 29, 2012, is expected to spill the beans.
“The CBI is an investigating agency. I cannot reveal the content of questions,” Mr. Mohapatra said while coming out of CBI’s local office here. An hour after Rajya Sabha member left CBI premise, BJD’s Cuttack-Choudwar MLA Pravat Biswal appeared at the CBI office for interrogation. Mr. Biswal was a loyalist of Mr. Mohapatra till May 2012.
But prior to general elections, he again returned to the BJD fold. He was believed to knowledge of the affairs about Seashore’s access to different wings of government, especially company’s operation in Cuttack district.
The CBI had so far registered 47 cases, including 3 in West Bengal and 44 in Odisha in the alleged chit fund scam following directions of the Supreme Court of India.
