This story is from September 16, 2014

Fearing arrest, BJD MLA seeks anticipatory bail

As panic gripped the BJD camp following CBI crackdown on some of its leaders in chit fund scams, Banki MLA Pravat Tripathy has moved the Orissa high court seeking anticipatory bail for his alleged complicity in Artha Tatwa (AT) Group fraud.
Fearing arrest, BJD MLA seeks anticipatory bail

BHUBANESWAR: As panic gripped the BJD camp following CBI crackdown on some of its leaders in chit fund scams, Banki MLA Pravat Tripathy has moved the Orissa high court seeking anticipatory bail for his alleged complicity in Artha Tatwa (AT) Group fraud.
On August 16, the CBI raided Tripathy's residence at Banki. "Since CBI has raided my house, I was forced to take legal shelter to prevent possible arrest," Tripathy told TOI.
He, however, did not disclose the date he sought the anticipatory bail. If the CBI summoned him, Tripathy, whose bank accounts are also under scanner, replied in the negative.
Tripathy landed in trouble after AT Group's chief Pradeep Sethy accused him of extorting money from him for a local festival in his constituency. An audio tape started doing the rounds, containing purported conversation between Sethy and Tripathy. While CBI is planning to re-examine the tape, Tripathy rubbished the charges. "I did not extort money from Sethy. The audio tape is fake and has been manufactured by my political rivals," Tripathy said.
The anticipatory bail plea came a day after CBI questioned his close aide and party worker Ashis Sahoo in the case. The central investigating agency suspects Sahoo worked as mediator between Tripathy and Sethy. "Sethy told us that Sahoo collected lakhs of rupees from him and gave it to Tripathy," said a CBI officer.
The CBI's sustained surveillance on politicians in chit fund scams came amidst raids on the houses of Mayurbhanj MP Rama Chandra Hansdah and ex-MLA Subarna Naik in the fraud by Nava Diganta Capital Services Limited and interrogation of BJD MLA Pranab Balabantray. Ranjan Dash, a former AT Group director, arrested in the scam is also a known supporter of Banki MLA.
author
About the Author
Debabrata Mohapatra

Debabrata Mohapatra is an Assistant Editor at The Times of India, Bhubaneswar. He had been writing for TOI from Puri since 2006 before joining the Bhubaneswar bureau in August 2010. He covers crime, law & order and Congress.

End of Article
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA