Akash Pathak, son of retired IFS officer Abhay Kant Pathak, on Wednesday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Tata Motors job fraud case.
He is accused of cheating of several job seekers to the tune of crores of rupees on the pretext of employing them with Tata Motors. Earlier, his father Abhay was suspended on charges of accumulating disproportionate assets.
While the ED has intensified its probe in the massive job scam also involving Gopalpur MLA Pradeep Panigrahy, Akash in his clarification today stated that the allegations of his involvement in the job fraud are false and he has been framed and targeted by the Odisha government.
Speaking to OTV, Akash said, “Had these fake allegations not been leveled against me, I would be celebrating my second marriage anniversary today. But they ruined everything for me, just a few days before my marriage.”
He further said that no complainant or job fraud victim has even taken his name.
“Not even the CBI has taken my name. They accused me of taking Rs 50 lakh, but this is completely false because I earn more than Rs 50 lakh and I will never do such a thing for money, and that too in an area where I was supposed to get married in Pradeep Panigrahy’s constituency. This is completely baseless and has no meaning at all,” he claimed.
“I have not given any fake offer letters to anyone. Even, the Crime Branch knows that the email id through which the offer letters were forwarded does not belong to me. Even CBI knows my personal email id. I do not even know the name of any victim and they are just implicating me in this case,” he further stated.
"Panigrahy would have fought election in that area; he would never do any such thing. I was supposed to get married there, so there is no chance of doing such fraud in our own place at least," he said when questioned about Panigrahy’s involvement in the case.
Clarifying his stand on taking chartered flights during lockdown, he said, “I had gone to Delhi and Mumbai on official purposes. I never went to Shimla or abroad or some hill stations for vacation. I was authorised to use the private flight and it was an official duty. Moreover, I stayed in Taj Hotel because it is the company’s hotel.”
Worth mentioning, Akash is accused of duping job aspirants of crores of rupees. It is alleged that Akash was giving fake appointment letters while Gopalpur MLA Pradeep Panigrahy, whose daughter was set to marry Akash, used to collect the money.