Odisha ex-AG says CBI is not impartial

Claiming that he was being made a pawn in the political chess board, former Odisha Advocate- General Ashok Mohanty today accused CBI of not functioning in an impartial, transparent and fair manner.
"I will expose the fraudulent manner of the CBI. The agency has manipulated papers and acted at the behest of someone to implicate me in order to malign the present government," an angry Mohanty told reporters immediately after his release from the special jail here.
Earlier, Mohanty was granted conditional bail by the District and Sessions Court, Khurda, ending a four-day-long speculation over his fate. He was arrested by CBI on September 22 on allegation of his link with the Artha Tatwa Group CMD Pradip Sethi.

Amidst slogans like "CBI..Shame..Shame" by a section of lawyers who welcomed Mohanty after his release from the jail here, the former AG said, "I want to make a statement that CBI is not an independent and impartial investigating agency. It's investigation is not fair."
"It (CBI) is everyday concocting and manufacturing documents in order to implicate me in the case. Even after my arrest...I was arrested on September 22. On September 23, they recorded statements of certain witnesses which were not there at the time of my arrest," Mohanty said.
Alleging that the CBI was manipulating records, he said, "They have seized all original documents and not given me a copy...Not even a xerox copy."

"I have a strong suspicion that CBI is acting at the behest of somebody. And I have been made a pawn in the political chess board to malign the present government," he said.
Meanwhile, members of the Orissa High Court Bar Association called off its three-day cease work agitation against Mohanty's arrest.