Civil society members on Friday demanded the Central Vigilance Commission’s (CVC) intervention for an early completion of CBI investigations in chit fund scam and Black Rose ship issue in the greater interest of people of the State
The members sent a memorandum to the CVC, New Delhi through the local CBI SP in this regard after completion of their five-day relay hunger strike at the CBI officer here on Friday.
“We staged a five-day hunger strict exerting pressure on the CBI to complete the investigation into chit fund scam and the Black Rose ship issue pending for the last years. Acting on the Supreme Court direction, the CBI had successfully conducted investigation and arrested number of powerful people, including owners of chit fund firms like Seashore and Artha Tatwa and MPs and MLAs of the ruling Biju Janata Dal and former Advocate General, and interrogated many more, including a few IAS and IPS officers. But astonishingly, the CBI inquiry turned sluggish after CBI officials questioned Saroj Sahu, an employee in the office of the Chief Minister's residence in November 2014. Now, duped depositors have expressed unhappiness and concern over ominous silence of the CBI,” read the memorandum.
The memorandum further mentioned that the then tainted CBI Special Director Rakesh Asthana, who was in charge of CBI investigation into chit fund scam, was alleged to have association with bribe-givers.
The CBI’s silence for the last two years has attributed possible unholy nexus among Asthana, chit fund culprits and BJD politicians , bureaucrats and IPs officers who were all involved in chit, it alleged.
“Former Minister Dr Damodar Rout has alleged that there was a Rs 100-crore deal between the State Government and CBI officers to suppress the scam. It has come to our notice that Nageswar Rao, present in-charge of Director of the CBI is also hand in glove with corrupt leaders of the ruling party,” alleged the memorandum.
It further mentioned that the CBI has not started investigation into the Black Rose ship case even as a few months have passed since Union Minister Dharmenda Pradhan declared that the Central Government handed over investigation into Black Rose ship issue to the CBI.
“In context of above, we urge the Commission to intervene into the matter and direct the CBI to complete inquiry into chit fund scam and Black Rose ship issue in the greater interest of people of Odisha,” demanded civil society members in the memorandum.
Among others, OSAA Jagatsinghpur district convenor Prasanta Routray, lawyer Sudhir Mohanty, Prasant Kumar Behera, Monaj Kumar Panda, Kailash Chandra Mallick, Sanjukta Panigrahi, Jitendra Sahoo, Seikh Abdul Wali and Ashdok Parida undersigned the memorandum.