The Orissa High Court on Wednesday granted conditional bail to former Managing Director (MD) of the Agricultural Promotion and Investment Corporation of Odisha limited (APICOl) Pradip Kumar Hota, who was arrested by the CBI in October last year for his alleged links with the Seashore Group chit fund company.
Justice JP Dash asked Hota to go on bail after furnishing bail bonds of two sureties of Rs2 lakh each. Among other conditions, he has been asked not to leave Odisha without prior permission from the Investigating Officer (IO) and cooperate with the IO as and when required.
During his tenure as MD of APICOl from November 2007 to May 2010, Hota had signed several Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with the Seashore Group. He had also received around Rs20 lakh from the chit fund company’s MD Prashant Kumar Dash by using his official power.
The CBI in its charge-sheet filed against Hota in October last year had mentioned that the money he received from the Seashore Group was transferred to his wife’s bank account by falsely recognising his wife as an employee of the APICOl.
He was arrested under Sections 120-B, 420 and 409 of IPC.