The presence of Hi-Tech Group chairman Tirupati Panigrahi, who was behind bars for 13 long months for his alleged involvement in land scams, at a meeting of the Policy Planning Board (PPB) on OJEE at the State Secretariat has raised many eyebrows.
Panigrahi attended the PPB meeting on Friday held under the chairmanship of retired judge Ashok Parichha wherein many senior Government officials were present.This has led to questions as to how accused persons having serious charges pending against them are members of important Government boards.Panigrahi had been arrested on December 25, 2012 by the Crime Branch (CB) Police on the charges of cheating hundreds of land buyers of nearly Rs315 crore by floating dubious schemes in the city and on its outskirts.
The Supreme Court granted conditional bail to Panigrahi in February this year only after he deposited Rs10 crore with the court registry and promised to deposit another Rs53.5 crore within three months to enable the court to disburse the amount among duped investors.