Chit fund scam: SC grants bail to Odisha MP

Bhubaneswar/New Delhi: Supreme Court today granted bail to suspended Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Lok Sabha MP Ramchandra Hansda who was lodged in jail since over three years in connection with Nabadiganta chit fund scam.

The Mayurbhanj MP, one of the directors of Nabadiganta Capital Services, was arrested by the CBI for his alleged involvement in the Odisha chit fund scam in November 2014.

Hansda’s lawyers informed media about the development.

Following his arrest, the BJD had suspended Hansda from the party.

Notably, Hansda was quizzed by a three-member team from Ministry of Corporate Affairs at Jharpada Special Jail in March this year.

In February 2015, CBI had filed charge sheet against Hansda and seven others for their alleged complicity in the multi-crore chit fund scam.

Months before his arrest, the investigating agency had raided Hansda’s residence at Baripada in July, 2014 where it had seized Rs 28 lakh. The parliamentarian, however, claimed that the cash seized belonged to him.

The tribal MP, one of the founding members of Nabadiganta Capital Service, had resigned from the company in 2012 much before the CBI raid at his house.