After facing a 90-minute interrogation by the CBI here on Saturday, BJD MlA from Banki and former Government Chief Whip in Assembly Pravat Tripathy told reporters that he was not questioned at all on his controversial phone chat with Artha Tatwa chief Pradeep Sethy and that it was all about an award given to Sethy in 2010 for his contribution to the cooperative movement.
Tripathy said the day’s interrogation centred around the ‘Best Youth Cooperator’ award given to Sethy in 2010.
It is alleged that Tripathy, when he was President of the Odisha State Cooperative Union, went out of his way to shore up Sethy’s image by giving him the award.
This was the fourth time Tripathy appeared before the CBI team for interrogation in connection with the chit fund scam. And it was his first appearance before the investigating agency since the Odisha High Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea on October 20. The court had earlier given him interim relief for about 20 days preventing his possible arrest by the CBI.
The High Court had asked the CBI to submit the forensic lab report of the voice test that sought to match his voice in a recorded phone conversation with Pradeep Sethy with the voice recorded by the CBI during its interrogation to him.
The CBI had submitted the transcript as well the forensic lab report of the voice test which sources said has clearly mentioned that the voice sample of Tripathy matched with that of the telephonic conversation recorded in the CD. Following the forensic lab’s voice test report, the court rejected Tripathy’s bail plea.