The details of several scams have come to the fore during the last week or so. In the forefront are the chit fund scams, the loot of the properties of the Emar Mutt of Puri, further details of the mining and land and house scams.
Before we go into the details of the quality of investigation into some of the patronised spheres of illegal and unjust enrichment, it is worth noticing that some residents of village Gambhari of the Brahmagiri area in Puri district, which has often been in the news for shootouts and bomb blasts, have demonstratively returned 50 stolen motorbikes that were with them.
The Village Committee has been rewarded with Rs50,000 by the Government. The change of heart of the villagers is definitely heartening and should be emulated by others.
However, the fact that one village could be the recipient of 50 stolen bikes indicates the uncontrolled and widespread criminal activities. It also shows that the local police have been unable to unearth such large-scale and yet concentrated illegal transactions involving theft and acquisition of stolen goods.
In the world of chit funds, the introduction of the CBI has definitely indicated that the State Crime Branch was not covering many fields because of its inherent weaknesses and inabilities. Hitherto, two entities have really been under the CBI’s searchlight; one is Artha Tattwa (AT) and the other Seashore. The AT investigations clearly demonstrate that the earlier probes by the State agencies had left out many vital areas from their purview.
It is now reliably reported that the AT network had blessings of persons enjoying political power, media barons and other influential persons and this was on the basis of quid pro quo.The investigations ought to be hastened, especially in view of the directions of the Supreme Court regarding the urgency, intent and intensity of the probe.
As per reports, during the interrogation by the CBI, AT chief Sethi and a director of his company Khuntia got involved in a brawl and almost came to blows when details relating to the big guns came to the fore.
Sources say Sethi has at last named political elements and some newspaper owners and other media personnel, who had colourable transactions of money with his organisation. Interestingly further, Sethi told investigators that some newspaper owners had received (or could it be called extorted) money on the promise of protecting Sethi from investigations. Sethi has reportedly implicated some bosses of the local police for having been paid protection money.
In the Seashore investigation, which has hitherto not been intensified, more revealing materials will be forthcoming if the CBI wants to keep up its image and does what is expected of it.Adding salt to the wound of the investors, one comes across the case of the Siddha Mahapurush Chit Fund in which 250 FIRs have been lodged against the promoter of the firm, Trilochan Rout, who is dead.
This must be providing a convenient excuse for slow and sluggish investigation into such an organisation, whose deposits may have touched Rsfive crore, but the depositors are mainly from the economically weaker sections.
Alongside, one is also reminded of the plunder of the valuable properties of the Emar Mutt. Reportedly, 17 kg of gold biscuits, diamond ornaments of the value of around Rstwo crore are still to be subjected to any effective investigation. Three years have gone by and two years have elapsed from the time the State Crime Branch was called upon to investigate into the matter.
In February 2011, the Singhadwar police station had recovered 522 silver bricks weighing about 19 tonnes and valued around Rs100 crore from an abandoned room of the mutt. Some gold ornaments were traced from a jeweller and 17 kg of gold ornaments and cash of around Rs10,45,000 were seized from this person.
Silver worth hundreds of crores of rupees has been stealthily taken away from the mutt to other States. While tracing out the movements of silver, investigators had become aware of the network spreading out to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Kolkata and Mumbai.The apparent non-efficacy of the investigation so far is a matter of concern. There being obvious inter-State repercussions, the Odisha Government, unless there are compelling extraneous reasons, ought to have considered handing over this case to the CBI.
The Justice Shah Commission reports on illegal mining relating to Odisha have revealed a series of cases where the provisions of law were thrown to the winds. All regulatory authorities quietly acquiesced to the organised rape of the laws.
It was amusing to find the Union Minister for Mines being ambivalent regarding the necessity of investigations into the mining scam being handed over to the CBI. This is a paradoxical situation. Many in the State Government do not want the mining scam to be investigated by the CBI so that their involvement is not exposed.
Now, it comes to light that the same holds good regarding the Central Government too. The Central Government’s functionaries through the IBM, Railways, port authorities and others have been a party to the scam and, therefore, have a vested interest in preventing a CBI investigation into their activities.The Central Government ought not to subvert investigation into the actions of these organisations by the CBI. Thus, in the Odisha case, there is now a situation hitherto unseen, that the Centre and the State having a common cause.
For once, they cannot complain of one not helping the other. Justice Shah, in his more than detailed report on specific issues and mine owners, exposes the illegalities in an itemised manner and, on an assessment of the overall requirements of further investigation (including tracing out the culpable persons), recommends an investigation by the CBI.
The unholy alliance between the Central and State Governments to avoid a CBI investigation is now apparent. The situation would, quite likely, invite remedial judicial intervention. An overview of what is analysed here necessitates public assertions and public action for intensifying the investigations in a purposive manner. And surely, the ramifications of the scams require investigation by an agency like the CBI. On a later occasion, this column shall try to deal with the manipulations by the big guns in the land and other property scams in Bhubaneswar, where lower officials have now been singled out to be the allegedly guilty ones, conveniently trying to immunise the bigwigs in our political circus.
These indicators are matters of grave public concern. Articulated and emphatic public opinion is an utter necessity to ensure that these gross and widespread maladies are not brushed under the carpet.
Vox Populi has to now speak through open debates and media discussions directly, demanding that the State authorities ensure independent, speedy and effective investigation, failing which the matters be handed over to the CBI. When the outcry is not appropriately heard by the authorities, the need of the hour will point towards judicial intervention to ensure that the culprits do not go scot-free. It is now a wakeup call.
(The writer, a Senior Advocate, is a former All India Service officer, a former diplomat, a former editor, a former president of Orissa High Court Bar Association and a former Advocate General of Odisha. jayantdas@hotmail.com)