CBI arrests BJD MP, MLAs; opposition train gun at Naveen

In a fresh blow to ruling BJD in Odisha, party MP Ramchandra Hansda and two former MLAs were today arrested by CBI in connection with multi-crore chitfund scam, prompting BJP and Congress to hit out at Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik accusing him of shielding the culprits.
Patnaik, however, said the government was not involved in the scam and "it has done its best to clean up the mess".
Apart from Hansda, Lok Sabha member from Mayurbhanj, CBI arrested former BJD MLA Subarna Naik and ex-BJP MLA Hitesh Kumar Bagarti on charge of criminal conspiracy, cheating and diversion of funds.
The three leaders were former directors of Nabadiganta Capital Services Limited, a ponzi group, CBI sources said.

Shortly after being arrested, Hansda and Naik were suspended from BJD by Patnaik, who is also the party supremo.
BJP, on its part, claimed that Bagarti was no more a member of the party. "We have not renewed the membership of Bagarti, ex-MLA from Khariar, much before his arrest," BJP spokesman Sajan Sharma said.

The arrest of Hansda and Naik came as a major embarrassment for BJD as it came close on the heels of the arrest of its senior MLA and former government chief whip Prabhat Tripathy on October 31.
The CBI has been probing the activities of 44 ponzi companies in the state which allegedly duped investors.

Hansda and the two former MLAs were summoned to the CBI office for interrogation and arrested after a few hours.
In July, during a raid on Hansda's house in Mayurbhanj district, the agency had recovered Rs 28 lakh in cash which, he had said then, it was personal.
Shortly before being arrested, Hansda said a portion of the cash recovered from his house belonged to the party and workers, alleging he was victim of conspiracy.
Armed with Hansda's claim, BJP attacked the chief minister and demanded that Patnaik be included within the purview of the CBI probe into chitfund scam.

"Patnaik should be brought within the ambit of CBI probe and he should explain as to how party money was stocked in Hansda's house," state BJP spokesman Samir Mohanty said.
Stating that CBI probe into chitfund scam had thoroughly exposed BJD, OPCC President Jaydev Jena alleged that the ruling party leaders involved in the ponzi scam were being shielded by Patnaik and none of them were touched by the police which also enquired into the matter.
Earlier on October 26, CBI had arrested Nabadiganta's CMD Anjan Baliarsingh and two directors - Kartik Parida and Pradeep Patnaik.