The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probing the multi-thousand crore chit fund scam in the State on Wednesday interrogated sports administrator, businessmen and mediapersons to unearth their alleged link with the chit fund company Artha Tatwa (AT) Group.
According to reports, the CBI first interrogated businessman and owner of TV news channel Manoj Das about his link with the AT Group. The officials asked Das about the money he had received from AT Group chief Pradeep Sethy to launch TV channels in the State.Sources said the AT group had paid Rs 90 lakh to utilise Das’s teleports as the group was preparing to launch six TV channels in the State.
later on the day, the Central investigating agency grilled Football Association of Odisha (FAO) secretary Sanjay Behera, son of Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) secretary Asirbad Behera, to know whether he had taken money from the company or not. The officials also asked the sports administrator about his link with company directors.
The CBI sleuths also quizzed former AT Group director Sagar Ray and Company’s co-founder Ranjan Das about their political links apart from the businessman, mediapersons and sports administrators. Even they were asked to divulge how much money the company had given to influential persons to run their businesses, said the sources.
Resuming Tuesday’s interrogation, the CBI asked several questions to Odia newspaper ‘The Suryaprava’ owner Bikash Swain, who is in 14-day remand, about his other businesses with the chit fund company besides purchasing a franchise of the Odisha Premier league (OPl) and taking money from the ponzi firm in the name of advertising through his newspaper and advertising agency.
Reliable sources said the CBI would soon interrogate another Odia daily newspaper owner in connection with the AT Group.
Notably, the probing agency had on Tuesday quizzed the franchise holders of the OPl, a cricket tournament of the OCA, sponsored by the AT Group in 2011. The sleuths had interrogated members of the OCA, directors Bismay Kumar Mohapatra and Deba Prasad along with accountant of the Orisons Overseas Company which had purchased Puri Emperors team during the OPl auction in 2011.