Odishatv Bureau

Berhampur/Paralakhemundi: In a repeat of what happened in the case of Purna Chandra Padhi a few weeks ago, the Sabyasachi Panda cited by former Union minister Braja Kishore Tripathy as having received an amount of Rs 45 lakh from the BJD account in April, 2014 has turned out to be a different person and not the Maoist leader currently in jail.

Hours after Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda denied having any bank account in ICICI bank, Chhatrapur police today revealed that the account number cited by Tripathy belongs to a person of the same name, who is a resident of Chhatrapur.

“The account holder’s name provided by Tripathy is in the same name, but his father’s name is Chhitaranjan Panda. He is a resident of Chhatrapur. There is a balance of Rs 1174 in the account,” Chhatrapur IIC said.

Earlier today, Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda had denied having received the amount as alleged by the former Union minister Braja Tripathy.

"I have never had any bank account. The only one account through which my financial transaction are held is the one which is in the address of Superintendent, Berhampur circle jail," said Panda, who had come here to depose before a court in connection with a case.

"Who was he (Tripathy) alluding to? Has he named Ramesh Chandra Panda's son Sabyasachi?" he asked responding to queries from media persons.

The former Maoist leader, however, declined to speak any further citing legal barriers.

Higher Education minister Pradeep Panigrahi also reacted sharply to the allegation of Tripathy that Rs 1.5 lakh was transferred from Sabyasachi’s account to his relative's account.

“If the allegation is proved, I am ready to resign from the council of ministers. If not, would he (Tripathy) go to jail?” Panigrahi asked.

Tripathy, a member of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's cabinet, on Tuesday accused ruling BJD of transferring Rs 45 lakh to Maoist leader Sabyasahi Panda’s bank account during 2014 general election.

"I am in possession of documents that Rs 45 lakh was transferred from BJD's SBI, Bhubaneswar account No. 10091755246 to Sabyasachi Panda's ICICI Bank Chhatrapur branch (Ganjam district) account No. 203601501728 on April 10, 2014," Tripathy had alleged.

He had further alleged that a day earlier, on April 9, 2014, Rs 1.5 lakh was transferred from Panda's account to a BJD leader’s account through cheque. Citing these two transactions, Tripathy had said BJD had links with Maoists and had used the rebels for electoral gain.

The former union minister had said he had written to PM Narendra Modi and Home minister Rajnath Singh detailing the bank accounts and dates of transaction seeking a high level inquiry.

BJD had refuted the allegation saying it was baseless. "BJD has never had any links with left wing extremists. We are advocating that rebels should join mainstream for which we are taking a number measures in the Maoist-hit area," BJD spokesperson Amar Satpathy said.

It may be noted that during the last budget session, Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra had alleged that a whopping Rs 8 crores had been deposited in the BJD's account at the SBI Main Branch in Bhubaneswar by Purna Chandra Padhi, who has been arrested and lodged in jail in the chit fund scam.

Inquiries, however, had revealed subsequently that the Purna Chandra Padhi, whohad deposited the amount in the BJD account was an office bearer of the party who handled the party's accounts.

scrollToTop