Odisha chit fund scam: Businessman sent to judicial custody
Bhubaneswar, Sep 16 (IANS) A court in Odisha Tuesday sent the owner of a local TV channel to 14 days' judicial custody for his alleged involvement in the multi-crore-rupee chit fund scam.
Manoj Das, the owner of Kamyab TV, was arrested Sunday by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) along with Madhu Mohanty, a real estate developer and owner of Odia daily Odisha Bhaskar, for their alleged role in the chit fund scam.
A day after allowing the CBI to take Madhu Mohanty on a 10-day remand, the special chief judicial magistrate in Bhubaneswar Tuesday rejected the bail plea of Das and sent him to judicial custody, a lawyer linked to the case told IANS.
The CBI is investigating the chit fund scam on the direction of the Supreme Court.
The scam came to light after a large number of investors last year complained that many firms collected huge amounts of money from them promising high returns, but later refused to pay them back as promised.
The CBI is probing at least 44 companies in Odisha. They include Kolkata-based Saradha Group, and Odisha-based Seashore and Artha Tatwa groups. The loss from the scam is claimed to be running into thousands of crores of rupees.
Both Mohanty and Das have been arrested for their alleged link with the Artha Tatwa group.