Odisha chit fund scam: CBI court denies bail to ex Microfinance MD

Reported by Santosh Jagdev

Bhubaneswar,  Dec 23:

The special CBI court here today rejected the bail plea of former Micro Finance Ltd MD Durga Prasad Mishra and sent him to judicial custody till January 8. He will be taken to the Jharpada jail here in a short while from now.

After Mishra was produced before the court, CBI senior counsel Kali Charan Mishra and Durga Prasad Mishra’s counsel made their arguments before court on the bail petition of the latter.

Tapas Acharya, counsel for Mishra, prayed for grant of bail to his client citing health grounds.  He said Mishra has had a bypass surgery in July this year and required routine health check up.

On his part, CBI senior counsel Kali Charan Mishra opposed the argument put forward by Mishra’s counsel stating that the agency had conducted regular health check-ups on the accused.

Mishra argued that since the CBI was still in the process of probing the larger conspiracy in the case, the former Microfinance boss should not be denied bail at this stage..

Earlier in the day, Mishra was taken to the Capital Hospital for a medical check up before being produced in the court.

Meanwhile, the Khordha District and Sessions Court today fixed the next hearing on the bail pleas of builders Vineet Lalani and Sagar Ray on January 7 and 8 next year.

The court conducted part hearing on their bail pleas today.

The duo was arrested by the CBI for their alleged links with the AT Group, a major player in the chit fund scam in the state.