The Justice MM Das Commission of Inquiry probing into the chit fund scam in the State on Wednesdaysubmitted its first interim report to the State Government. Commission Secretary Debraj Rout submitted the report in a sealed cover to the Home Secretary Asit Tripathy in Bhubaneswar.
While details of the report are not known, sources indicated that the commission has apparently made certain recommendations as to how to return the money to smaller investors of the chit fund companies. Investors as well as intellectuals of the State, however, term the development as politically motivated keeping an eye on the forthcoming panchayat elections.
The report came just within a month of Justice MM Das condemning the investors for their “greediness” and giving a clean chit to the State Government.
These controversial remarks made by Justice Das at a BJD legal forum meeting here on April 27 invited widespread public ire demanding his removal as head of the probe panel. According to sources, out of some 10 lakh affidavits received by the commission, it has made the recommendations screening only 27,000 affidavits, which were filed during the first three weeks of August 2013.
From these affidavits, the commission has identified 104 tainted chit fund companies and notices have been issued to 88 of them. Sources further added that the interim report has apparently suggested the Government to take initiatives in returning the money first to smaller investors, who have invested less than `10,000.