Post News Network
Cuttack, Jan 29: Ranjan Dash, an accused in the multi-crore chit fund scam in the state, was granted conditional bail by the Orissa high court here Thursday. The court directed the petitioner, owner of Swastik India Multi-State Cooperative Society, to submit his passport before the investigating agency and furnish two bailers for his release.
Since the tentacles of chit fund scam had spread to other states, the court directed the plaintiff to surrender his passport.
Earlier, January 20, the court of special chief judicial magistrate (CBI) rejected a petition of the superintendent of special jail, Jharpada, to shift Artha Tatwa Group (AT) scam-accused Ranjan Dash to the circle jail at Choudwar to “facilitate his treatment” at the Acharya Harihar Cancer Hospital.
Rabi Narayan Swain, superintendent of special jail, Jharpada, had appealed to the CBI judge to shift Ranjan to the circle jail, Choudwar, citing the reason that they found it difficult to take Ranjan to Cuttack for treatment at frequent intervals.
Ranjan, considered a close confidant of arrested BJD MLA Pravat Tripathy, was detained by CBI last year for his alleged links with the ArthaTatwa (AT) group and its CMD Pradeep Sethy, who has also been imprisoned. Along with expelled BJD leader Tripathy and Sethy, Ranjan has been named as an accused in the CBI’s preliminary charge sheet, which was submitted in the designated CBI court in December last.
Ranjan Dash is the first petitioner to get bail after the central investigating agency submitted its preliminary charge sheet in the multi-crore chit fund scam in Orissa.