HC refuses to grant interim bail to Chitfund accused

The Orissa High Court today refused to grant interim bail to arrested chitfund scam accused Ranjan Das for treatment of oral cancer outside the state.
Instead, Justice Raghuvir Das asked the petitioner to undergo treatment at the Regional Cancer Centre in the city.
Pronouncing his verdict that was kept reserved after completion of hearing on Thursday, the single judge bench posted the matter for further hearing in the first week of January.
The High Court had earlier sought a status report from the cancer centre in which it was mentioned that the applicant was not still afflicted with cancer.
A close confidant of arrested MLA Pravat Tripathy, Ranjan was arrested by CBI earlier this year for his alleged links with chit fund company Arthatatwa (AT) group and its CMD Pradeep Sethy, who is now also in CBI custody.

Along with expelled BJD leader Tripathy and Sethy, Ranjan has been named as an accused in CBI's preliminary charge sheet, which was submitted in the designated CBI court Wednesday.