Odisha chit fund scam: Arrested builder Sagar Ray to be produced in CBI court today

Reported by Santosh Jagdev
Bhubaneswar, Nnov 15:

Builder Sagar Ray, arrested by the CBI in connection with the Odisha chit fund scam yesterday, will be produced in the special CBI court here this afternoon.

A medical check up was conducted by a doctor from the Capital Hospital here at the CBI office this morning ahead of his production in the court.

While CBI sources said the agency would seek remand for Ray to interrogate him further on his dubious deals with the Artha Tatwa (AT) group, Ray’s counsel would move a bail petition on his client’s behalf today.

Ray, under CBI scanner for his alleged involvement in land deals of the Artha Tatwa (AT) Group and construction of apartments and duplex houses in the city, had appeared before CBI here on November 11 twice, first in the afternoon and then again in the night.

The builder, along with Vineet Lalani, his partner, is said to have taken huge amounts of money from the AT group for their real estate and construction business, sources said.

On September 5, the CBI had recorded the statements of two builders, Ray and Lalani, after grilling them for several hours.

On November 5, the CBI team had arrested Lalani and Dillip Mohanty for their alleged links with the AT Group, a ponzi firm, on the basis of their recorded statements and its investigation

Dillip Mohanty, another realtor, happens to be a director of Lalani’s real estate firm.

The special CBI court here on November 13 had sent the two businessmen – Lalani and Mohanty – on a 14-day judicial custody after rejecting their bail pleas. They would be produced in the court on November 26 again.

Sources said Orison Properties Ltd had constructed an apartment at Sundarpada in the city using AT Group money.

However, Lalani later sold the apartment, but did not repay the amount he had taken from the AT Group, the sources added.