Odisha chit fund scam: CBI gets DSP Pramod Panda on 5-day remand
Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Dec 20:
The special CBI court here today allowed the CBI, which is investigating the mega chit fund scam in Odisha, to take DSP Pramod Panda on a five-day remand for interrogation on his links with the Artha Tatwa (AT) Group.
The CBI had arrested DSP Pramod Panda yesterady evening on charges of larger conspiracy and deriving undue financial benefits from the AT group. He is the first Odisha police officer to be arrested in the case. He was posted as DSP, district intelligence bureau (DIB), Nayagarh at the time of his arrest.
During the course of its investigation, the CBI had stumbled upon evidence of his complicity with the chit fund scam accused and AT group chief Pardeep Sethy. During a raid at his Bhadrak residence on November 18, the central agency had seized some crucial documents that pointed to financial transactions between him and the AT group.
The CBI had got tell tale evidence of transfer of huge amounts of money from the AT group to a computer centre named ZICA run by Panda’s wife Gitanjali, sources in the agency said.
The court also extended the remand period of former director of AT Group Jagabandhu Panda by five days while allowing the CBI to take another director of the group Manoj Pattnaik on a five day remand.
The CBI had moved the court to take Pattnaik on a 14-day remand on December 9, the same day it moved the court to take Jagabandhu Panda, another ex-director of AT group, on remand.
The special CBI court December 11 allowed the CBI to take Jagabandhu Panda on a nine-day remand from December 12.
Commissionerate Police had arrested Panda on May 28 last year in connection with the Rs 500- crore financial scam perpetrated by the company.
Panda, a resident of Balasore who had joined AT Group in 2008, allegedly embezzled nearly Rs 100 crore from the company before floating another money circulation company named Swastik India along with some former AT Group employees in 2011.
Manoj Pattnaik, who had been handling the AT Group’s gold trading business, had been arrested by the police in connection with the company’s financial fraud on May 31 last year.
Pattnaik, who at the time had managed to get an anticipatory bail in connection with a cheating case in AT Group, was arrested after police slapped a second case against him relating to fraud in gold trading by the company. He had reportedly embezzled nearly Rs 4 crore, CBI sources said.
CBI INVESTIGATION IN MEGA SCAM IN ODISHA AND ARREST OF DSP PRAMOD KUMAR PANDA OF ODISHA CRIME BRANCH.
1. DSP Pramod Panda is a Chit Fund Operator in Police Uniform.
2. His black money was invested in Artha Tatwa and Swastik India and he had appointed Jagabandhu Panda (his nephew) as one of the directors in Artha Tatwa and later on in Swastik India to circulate his black money in these two companies.
3. DSP Panda was the Investigating Officer in the multi-crore Balasore chit FUND scam involving Fine Indisales, a company owned by Bollywood actor and film-maker Naseer Khan but suspecting improper investigation of Crime Branch Mr Bibhu Prasad Nayak prayed the Honourable High Court for CBI investigation and since 12.12.2012 this case is with CBI and I do not know what is the progress of CBI in this case.
4. Now CBI should interrogate DSP Panda very tactfully because it is not easy to get all correct information from him as he is a police officer and must be knowing how to avoid to answer the questions of CBI.
5. But DSP panda should also understand that nobody can save him from the jail term hence he must cooperate CBI and disclose the name of Senior IPS Officer(s) who have allowed him to do this fraud and who are directly or indirectly involved in this mega scam.
6. Now CBI should interrogate Sri Bijaya Kumar Sharma IPS (ADG of Odisha Crime Branch) for his direct and indirect involvement in this Mega Chit Fund Scam. This IPS Officer is serving in Odisha Police since the year 2006 and has worked as DIG CID CB, Commissioner in Commissionerate Police and at present as ADG of Odisha Crime Branch,
a) he has intentionally not exercised his power and avoided to take action against many fraud chit fund companies as per the Home Department Letter No. 16891 of 27.4.2004
b) Odisha Crime Branch has given false affidavit in the Apex Court in WP(C) 413 of 2013 that there is no involvement of politicians and bureaucrats in this mega chit fund scam.
JAYANTA KUMAR DAS (RTI ACTIVIST), 9861770749(M)