Oriss HC rejects bail plea of news channel proprietor

CUTTACK: The Orissa high court on Monday rejected the bail petition of Manoj Das, proprietor of a local news channel. He was arrested in September 2014 by the CBI for his alleged involvement in Artha Tatwa (AT) Group fraud and lodged in Jharpada Special Jail in Bhubaneswar..
Das had allegedly taken Rs 90 lakh from AT Group chief Pradip Sethy for leasing bandwidth for operating six television channels.
During interrogations by the CBI, Dash managed to produce document/agreement pertaining to leasing of bandwidth for operating only one television channel for Rs 15 lakh to Sethy. He failed to produce documents for the other five channels and also account for the rest Rs 75 lakh. The CBI alleged that Das took financial benefits from AT.
Das moved the court, arguing that he had got anticipatory bail in the case registered at Kharavela Nagar police station and later transferred to the CBI. He alleged that the CBI arrested him in violation of the HC order.
The central investigating agency vehemently opposed Das' plea. CBI counsel V Narasingha claimed the agency registered eight cases against AT. "Das had obtained anticipatory bail in one case. The relief, however, is not applicable to the remaining seven. The court accepted our argument and denied bail to Das," said a CBI counsel.