Central Excise raids Odisha MP Rabindra Jena’s office, factory

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Balasore, Feb 6:

The Central Excise officials today conducted raids at BJD’s Balasore MP Rabindra Jena’s office and factory here.

While a five-member team raided Jena’s office at OT Road here, search was carried out at Om pipe manufacturing factory in Somnathpur, reports said.

Some incriminating documents were seized during the raids, reports added.

However, Jena described the raids as a “political conspiracy” against him.

“I do not know why the Central Excise officials conducted raids. This is a political conspiracy against me as one after another central agencies are conducting raids at my offices and houses,” said the BJD MP.

Jena said he won’t be surprised if more raids are conducted in the coming days.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had earlier conducted raids at Jena’s two houses in Balasore on January 12 in connection with the Seashore Group chit fund scam.

Jena had also presented himself before the CBI on December 10 last year after being summoned and was questioned for around seven hours over his alleged links with the tainted chit fund company.

As per sources close to the MP, Jena headed the ‘Supratik’ group of companies, which had lent an amount of Rs 18 crores to the Seashore Group in 2010. Seashore had paid back the lion’s share of the money, but still owed Rs 1.86 crores to him, the sources said.