Odisha chit fund scam: Football body secy faces CBI grilling again

Reported by Santosh Jagdev
Bhubaneswar, Nov 17:

Secretary of Football Association of Odisha (FAO) Sanjay Behera appeared before the CBI here this evening following summons by the central agency which is probing the multi-crore chit fund scam in the state on orders of the Supreme Court.

Sanjay is the son of Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) honorary secretary Ashirbad Behera. This is the third time Sanjay is appearing before the CBI.

His father Asirbad Behera was yesterday grilled for about 11 hours in two phases. Five other officials of the OCA were also interrogated by the CBI for OCA’s alleged links with ponzi firm Artha Tatwa (AT) Group. Among the other five officials of the OCA interrogated by the CBI yesterday were a joint secretary, an accountant and treasurer of OCA.

Sources in the CBI said Sanjay is likely to be interrogated on possible fund diversion from the AT Group to the FAO through the OCA route.

After taking over the investigation, the CBI had raided the OCA office and Asirbad Behera’s residence on August 17 and seized several important documents.

The OCA secretary had earlier said that the AT Group had sponsored the OPL tournament and had paid Rs One crore towards sponsorship fees and that the OCA had all the documents to prove that it was a bona fide commercial deal. He had then said a part of the sponsorship amount was spent in hiring Australian coach Michael Bevan to train Odisha players.

Sanjay’s interrogation by the CBI was continuing at the time of filing this report.