Recently, at a high level meeting chaired by the additional chief secretary (finance), the government approved a proposal of Odisha computer application centre (OCAC) to buy a server for creation of a database containing names of the depositors, based on claims received by the Patra Commission, probing into chit fund scam in the state.
According to official sources, the Commission has informed the government of receiving nearly 10 lakh affidavits claiming to have deposited money in various ponzi schemes run by dubious companies. The government wanted to verify all such claims with the data of chit fund companies to avoid duplication and hence, decided to digitise the data to expedite the process of settling the claims.
More From This Section
Last year, when the chit fund scam came to light, the state government had announced creation of a Rs 300 crore corpus fund and consitutede a judicial commission headed by retired Justice R K Patra to receive the affidavits of claims from the harried depositors. It had also notified two acts, which empowered it to abolish the chit fund companies registered under the cooperative act and auction properties owned by the chit fund companies to return money to the depositors. It had ordered an inquiry by crime branch department of state police to book the culprits.
However, all these efforts of the government have failed to assuage the victims of the scam as subsequent investigations by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have exposed the links between the chit fund companies and influencial sections of people, many of them belonging to the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD). CBI sleuths have raided houses of three BJD leaders in connection with the scam. Opposition parties such as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have alleged that the crime branch inquiry ordered by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was eye wash to cover up the links of ruling party leaders with the chit fund firm owners. The CBI has been raiding houses of different political leaders in connection with chit fund scam after arrested AT group chief Pradip Sethy revealed that several politicians, bureaucrats and journalists had taken kickbacks from his company. Following Sethy's admissions, the state crime branch had confiscated the property of the group, estimated at Rs 400 crore.
In a separate development, the CBI today produced Sethy in court after his remand ended. The central agency has pleaded for extention of Sethy's remand by four days for further investigation as it is trying to establish a link between business transaction of chit fund company AT Group with some leaders of the ruling party.