Hope fades away as CBI sleeps into coma

By A K SAHOO

Bhubaneswar, Feb. 27: Hope for 20 lakh chit fund affected people in Odisha to get back their money seems to be fading away as the credibility of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as an impartial and effective probe agency has sunk new low following its failure to nail the key culprits involved in the mega chit fund scam.

Despite the agency being claimed to have been provided “clinching evidences” by approvers against a host of top the ruling BJD, it has almost stopped its  investigation midway, surprising over 20 lakh small depositors who have lost nearly Rs 10,000 crore.

After initial arrests of some influential persons, the agency has almost discontinued grilling of other suspects named in the case. It has allegedly slowed down proceedings against top politicians, Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers, Indian Police Service (IPS) officers, journalists and other influential persons whose names had surfaced in the scams.

The investors now doubt if they would ever be able to get back their money.

Names of a host of top BJD politicians, including Mayurbhanj Lok Sabha member Ramachandra Hansda, Banki MLA Pravat Tripathy and Choudwar MLA Pravat Ranjan Biswal, had cropped up in Artha Tatwa Group scam. These leaders were arrested by the CBI.

However, a few others, including some ex-ministers of the Naveen Patnaik government, still enjoys their freedom despite the approvers time and again naming them before the investigating CBI officers.

The ponzi firm Artha Tatwa has allegedly swindled Rs 500 crore from investors while Seashore Group has looted nearly Rs 1500 crore.

While Mayurbhanj MP Hansda and Bankin MLA were Tripathy were arrested, the CBI had served notice to former minister Sanjay Das Burma to appear before it for his alleged links with Artha Tatwa Group.

The central probe agency had arrested two Trinamool Congress MPs- Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Tapas Paul – for their alleged links with Rose Valley Group that operated in Odisha. Besides, it had brought to Odisha on remand Sudipto Ray, chairman of Saradha Group.

Though the probe agency questioned four IPS officers – Rajesh Kumar, Satish Gajbhiye, R P Koche and Sanjeeb Panda – between 2014 and 2016 for their alleged links with Seashore chief Prashant Dash, some other influential police and IAS officers continue to enjoy CBI immunity, allege investors.

The agency’s “mysterious” approach to handle the chit fund scam and bring all the culprits to book has frustrated some of the approvers.

Tapan Mohanty, one of the key approvers in the chit fund scam, has leveled serious allegation of “deliberate dithering” by the agency on the issue and threatened to knock the door of Supreme Court if the latter does not bring to the book the high and mighty politicians named by him are not arrested.

Tapan has alleged that the BJD politicians were given huge cash incentives and gifted costly luxury SUVs to extend their patronage to chit fund firms.

In a letter to the SP, CBI, Bhubaneswar, Tapan has said although he named some of top politicians of the ruling BJD, including some powerful ex-ministers and provided “clinching evidences” against them, the CBI has not grilled any of them so far to establish the charges.

“I had given a list of the then ministers, MLAs and other influential persons to the CBI with details on money and luxury vehicles received by them from Artha Tatwa Group. But, very surprisingly, the CBI is silent on this. I have recently petitioned to the SP, CBI, Bhubaneswar, seeking to expedite the probe process. If the CBI does not do the justice, we would surely approach the Supreme Court,” Tapan told this newspaper.

Subhankar Nayak, a fixer who was arrested November 18, 2014 by the CBI for facilitating money between the chit fund firms and influential persons, had also mentioned names of some officers in his diaries. The diaries are still in the possession of CBI.

In one of the four diaries seized from him by the CBI, Subhankar has mentioned names of four superintendents of police (SPs), one Deputy Inspector General of Police, two collectors and several politicians who were paid by the Seashore Group to protect the illegal money circulation business. The CBI has submitted excerpts from the diary in the court of special CJM (CBI) on November 18, 2016.

In one of his diaries seized by CBI, Subhankar has mentioned in details of the amount paid by the Seashore Group to various persons, including former SPs of Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Sundargarh and Balasore; former DIG (Sambalpur) and collector (Sambalpur), said the search list.

In another diary, he has mentioned names of various persons, including IAS officers, IPS officers, MPs and MLAs, as his beneficiaries.

“Despite having such clinching clues the CBI has not gone beyond the customary questioning of some of the officers. None of the preliminary or interim charge-sheets submitted by the CBI in Bhubaneswar court has categorical mention of the real culprits,” said approver Tapan Mohanty.

According to Justice MM Das Commission of Inquiry, at least 174 chit fund firms have collected nearly Rs 10,000 crore from 20 lakh investors.