The CBI team raided the premises of the BJD MLA in Odisha capital.
(India Today)The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday raided the residence of former minister and BJD MLA Debi Prasad Mishra over the Seashore chit fund scam in Bhubaneshwar.A 7-member team of CBI raided the official residence of Mishra and seven other places on Friday.
The raid continued for 3-4 hours.Notably, the central investigating agency had reopened the case in July and interrogated one of the main accused, Subhankar Nayak, to ascertain the role of two IAS officers and one IPS officer in the scam.The Seashore Group had reportedly raised around Rs 578 crore from unsuspecting people whom them offered 36 percent interest per annum on their deposits.It had also served notices to the then General Manager of Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) Sangram Keshari Ray and Parag Gupta, who was posted as secretary of the Tourism Department when these agreements with Seashore Group were made.It is alleged that Debi Mishra during his tenure as Odisha Culture - Tourism Minister signed agreements with Seashore for a water sports complex with a restaurant in Cuttack apart from giving permission to the company to manage a government-run guest house in Khordha.Earlier, the investigating agency had interrogated Mishra's two associates, Prafull Singha and Dillip Mishra, of the Badamba Narasinghpur constituency.Mishra has said that he had always cooperated with the CBI investigations and will continue to do so.
He further stated that the CBIs presence was not a raid and that the officials just asked for documents.I told them that since I have been tested Covid-19 positive, I am in isolation.
I told them they can ask anything they feel like.
I told them that I have been cooperating with them for all these years and shall continue doing so.
They said that they wanted to go through some correspondences which I allowed.
After doing so, they left, Mishra added.Earlier, BJDs former MP from Mayurbhanj, Ramchandra Hansdah and former chief whip Pravat Tripathi were arrested on chit fund scam by CBI.
They are now out in bail.