Post News Network
Bhubaneswar: A day after Congress leader Lalatendu Bidyadhar Mohapatra alleged that food and civil supplies minister Sanjay Das Burma had taken an SUV as a gift from Artha Tatwa Group, the tainted firm’s chief, Pradeep Sethy, Friday said some of the firm’s vehicles were used by politicians during the 2009 Assembly elections.
“During the 2009 Assembly elections, some political leaders had requested me to lend them some vehicles. I am yet to get back some of those vehicles,” said Sethy to journalists on the premises of a special court of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) here.
Sethy, however, did not name the political leaders to whom he had given the vehicles, which were purchased reportedly from the firm’s bank account. “The vehicles were given only for campaigning; they were not gifted,” Sethy said, declining to speak further on the issue.
Sources said the affidavit submitted by Pradeep in the court mentions that he had given a green Pajero bearing registration number OR-29-0001 to Das Burma. Sethy had reportedly given around 16 expensive cars to political leaders. He is yet to receive one of the cars he had given to Pravat Tripathy, who was arrested in 2014 for his links with AT Group, said sources.
Without taking any name, Lalatendu had said Thursday that “a 53-year-old BJD leader, who is the president of Biju Yuva Janata Dal and in-charge of two important portfolios,” was gifted a Pajero SUV by Sethy. Das Burma had rebutted the allegations and challenged Lalatendu to prove them.
Earlier in the day, several persons against whom chargesheet has been filed by CBI in connection with the ongoing chit fund scam were provided duplicate copies of the chargesheet.
Other than Sethy, chit fund scam accused such as Bikash Swain, Indu Diwan, Manoj Das, Jagabandhu Panda and Pramod Panda appeared in the court Friday.