After interrogating thrice over last three consecutive days, the CBI finally arrested former Crime Branch DSP Pramod Panda on Friday evening in connection with the irregularities by the Artha Tatwa (AT) Group, a major player in the chit fund scam in the State.
Panda, presently working as DSP in DIB section in Nayagarh district, was arrested on charges of a big conspiracy and receiving undue financial benefits, said CBI spokesperson in New Delhi. Though the CBI had quizzed two senior IPS officers, DIG Rajesh Kumar and Kendrapada SP Satish Gajbhiye earlier, Panda happens to be the first police officer to be arrested by the CBI in the chit fund scam.
Panda reached the CBI office here in a motorcycle at around 3.30 pm. After three hours of marathon grilling, the CBI spokesperson informed the media about Panda’s arrest. Sources said the CBI had gathered evidence against Panda during investigation. Panda could not prove his innocence. The CBI had found that the DSP had link with the chit fund scam accused and AT Group chief Pardeep Sethy.
It also came to the fore during the interrogation that Panda was involved in transferring huge sums of money from the AT Group to a computer centre named ZICA run by Panda’s wife Gitanjali, CBI sources said. Earlier, the CBI had raided Panda’s Bhadrak residence on November 18 and had seized some important documents that pointed to financial transactions between him and the AT Group.
In a related development, Alok Jena, on whose petition the Supreme Court had ordered CBI probe into the chit fund scam, met the CBI SP here and shared some vital information with him regarding chit fund scam. Sources said Jena submitted the information about the threatening he had received from Panda and his boss. Notably, Jena has filed two FIRs against the DSP in New Delhi accusing him of intimidating him and threatening him with dire consequences if he did not withdraw his PIl in the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, CBI Joint Director Suman Bala Sahoo would arrive at the city on Saturday and visit the CBI office here to review the progress of the investigation, official sources said.