CBI raids home of Naveen Patnaik aide, other BJD leaders

BHUBANESWAR: Days ahead of the panchayat elections, the CBI on Thursday dealt a blow to the BJD when it raided the homes of an MLA, an MP and an office staff of chief minister Naveen Patnaik for their alleged involvement in the Seashore Group chit fund scam.
Those whose homes were raided include that of Choudwar-Cuttack legislator Pravat Biswal, Balasore Lok Sabha MP Rabindra Jena and Naveen's aide Saroj Sahoo.The raid on Sahoo's house is significant as he is considered to be close to Naveen. Jena, whose houses in Balasore and Delhi were raided, was last week summoned by the CBI to appear for interrogation on Thursday. He was earlier interrogated by the CBI in January 2015 while Biswal and Sahoo were questioned in November 2014.
The day-long raids conducted by the CBI come in the wake of the arrests of Trinamool Congress MPs Tapas Pal and Sudip Bandyopadhyay in the Rose Valley chit fund scam.
The CBI, which conducted simultaneous raids at 36 locations in Odisha and some other states, also searched the house of Congress leader Arindam Sarkhel (Bapi), who was arrested recently for his alleged role in the murder of Mahendra Swain, a top executive of Hyderabad-based Seaways Shipping and Logistics Pvt Ltd, in Paradip last October.