The Seashore Group, a major player in the chit fund scam in Odisha, had given around Rs250 crore to 47 MlAs, including those of the ruling BJD. This was exposed by whistleblower Pinak Mohanty, who has recorded the voice of a top Seashore official revealing secret information regarding his company’s link with politicians.
The conversation saved in an audio CD (copy with The Pioneer) revealed that the company spent around Rs550 cr, out of which politicians pocketed about Rs250 crore.
The CD contained a 39.06-minute conversation between Pinak and the Seashore employee believed to be Pradeep Samantaray, who was a close aide of company CMD Prashant Dash. The man stated in the CD that Seashore Group’s middleman and land broker Subhankar Nayak, who had opened the Pandora’s box of Seashore’s link with bureaucrats, police officers and politicians during interrogation by the CBI, had secretly kept the list of company beneficiaries including 20 MlAs. He and company CMD Dash have kept the list of 27 MlAs, he added.
The official said a powerful Minister, who is known to be close to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, had also taken money from the company. “I have personally given money to 17 MlAs, including the Minister, between 2008 and 2012. I have all evidence with me,” said the company official.
The voice in the CD claims that he was working as head of four divisions of the company’s transport business. He also claimed that he has information about Rs1,200 cr of the company money.
When Pinak asked the man about any involvement of the Chief Minister, the latter said that one Saroj from the Chief Minister’s office had taken money from the company. The man in the audio tape referring to himself as the pet dog of Dash said he could not reveal any secret as he doesn’t want to be a traitor.
After Pinak’s repeated request, the man revealed that around Rs400 crore of the company is in Dadra and Nagar Haveli. “You know Dash has link with Mumbai and Dubai mafias. So, nobody can try to create any harm to him,” said he. Pinak asked, “What will happen if the politicians and other beneficiaries of the company try to kill Dash.” The man answered that Dash would soon leave for Malaysia after his release from jail because he has received citizenship of the country. He has bought a house and other belongings there at a cost of Rs20 crore, the man added.
The official confidently predicted that the Naveen Patnaik Government would dissolve by 2017 as several BJD MlAs are involved in the scam. “The countdown has already begun for the BJD Government’s bad period,” added he. Pinak had already handed over the CD to the CBI on March 28. On the basis of the information extracted from the CD, the CBI officials on Wednesday had conducted raid on Samantaray’s residence at Niali in Cuttack district.
Meanwhile, the CD has been sent to a forensic laboratory in Hyderabad for examination. But when contacted, Samantaray said someone has done this to harass him intentionally. “While gossiping I might have told about rumours like people discuss in tea stalls and public places, but I cannot accept the entire voice in the CD which is designed to defame and harass me,” said he, adding, “Even the CBI had not asked me about the contents of the CD.”