Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, March 3: The Orissa High Court Tuesday granted conditional bail to BJD leader and Banki MLA Pravat Tripathy, who was languishing in the Jharpada jail here after his arrest by the CBI last year. The case relates to his alleged links with the Artha Tatwa group, a ponzi firm involved in the multi-crore chit fund scam.
The court granted him bail on a bond of Rs 10lakh and asked him to surrender his passport. He has also been asked to cooperate with the central agency in its investigations. Earlier, February 24, the court had reserved its verdict on Tripathy’s bail petition after hearing the arguments from both sides.
Counsel for the Banki MLA had argued that there was no justification for keeping him in jail any longer since the CBI had already filed the charge sheet in the AT group case in which he has been charged. CBI counsel, however, opposed the bail plea arguing he could threaten witnesses if he was let out. Though a preliminary charge sheet had been filed in the AT group case, the investigation was still open, he had stressed.
Tripathy’s earlier bail pleas had been rejected by the special CBI court and the Khurda district and sessions court here. He had also been denied anticipatory bail by the high court before his eventual arrest. Tripathy is the first politician and sitting MLA in Orissa to have been arrested and jailed by the CBI in connection with the chit fund scam.
