Odisha chit fund scam: Preeti Bhatia denied bail

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Oct 25:

The special CBI court here has rejected the bail plea of Mumbai-based model and television serial producer Preeti Bhatia, who has been arrested by the central agency in connection with the Odisha chit fund scam.

Bhatia was sent to judicial custody on Friday after the special CBI court pronounced its verdict rejecting her bail plea at the end of the hearing in the matter.

On October 14, the court had failed to conduct a hearing on her bail plea on account of an advocate’s death and had sent her to judicial custody till October 24.

The Mumbai based model who was arrested by the CBI on October 10 for her alleged business links with chit fund firm AT Group’s chief Pradeep Kumar Sethy and was produced before the special CBI court on October 14 by the Central investigating agency on completion of her four day remand period.

The CBI had raided Bhatia’s house in Mumbai on August 16 and had found business links between Bhatia and Pradeep Kumar Sethy, who are directors in a company called Prism Heights Films & Entertainment Private Limited, with its registered office at Santa Cruz (West) in Mumbai.

There are allegations that the AT Group chief Sethy had siphoned off crores of depositors’ money to this company.

Bhatia was arrested on October 10 after she failed to account for the monetary transactions with Pradip Kumar Sethy.