Odisha chit fund scam: IO in AT case appears before CBI

Reported by Santosh Jagdev
Bhubaneswar, Dec 3:

Manoj Samanta, the former investigating officer (IO) in the Artha Tatwa (AT) Group scam today appeared before the CBI, which is investigating the multi-crore chit fund scam in Odisha on Supreme Court orders.

Samanta, former IIC of Kharavela Nagar police station, arrived at the CBI office here around noon and came out after about an hour.

Talking to media persons after coming out, Samanta said he had been called by the CBI since he had investigated the case against Artha Tatwa (AT) group before the CBI took over the case.

“Since the CBI is planning to file the charge sheet in the case soon, they had called me as the former IO to seek some clarifications on the documents related to the case,” Samanta said.

Asked if he had been summoned as a witness in the case, he said he had already deposed before the CBI as a witness.

As IO in the case lodged against the AT group at the Kharavela Nagar police station in February last year, Samanta had interrogated about 55 persons and arrested AT Group chief Pradeep Kumar Sethy and six others. Samanta had filed a preliminary chargesheet and subsequently a supplementary chargesheet in the case with a local court.

Two out of the seven persons arrested by Samanta are now out on bail.