Dasburma invested chit fund money in 5 companies: BJP, Cong

Bhubaneswar: Trouble is mounting by the day for Minister Sanjay Dasburma with new allegations being levelled by Congress and BJP on Friday and demanding that the CBI should investigate the BJD leader’s investment in five companies.

Leaders of Congress and BJP alleged money had been invested in the name of family members of Dasburma in Nilachala Granite Pvt Ltd, Nilachala Mining Pvt Ltd, Team Media and Hospitality Pvt Ltd, Nilachala Builders Pvt Ltd and Techoshine Info Solution Pvt Ltd. The registered office of all these companies is L-3/2 Labour Colony in Kharavela Nagar, Unit-3 of Bhubaneswar, Dsaburma's residence.

Samir Mohanty, Vice President, State BJP, said, “The directors of the companies are Satyprakash Jayasingh, Suryaprakash Jayasingh, Bhimsen Jayasingh, Ramakrishna Das, the minister’s father, and Sailabala Dasburma, wife of the minister.”

“BJP demands CBI should investigate into the investment in these five companies done with the profit money of chit fund companies as well as money laundering aspect,” hey added.

Raking up the same issue, senior Congress leader Lulu Mohapatra said, “The investigation should find out who are the proprietors of these companies and their turnover. Besides, the relationship of Jayasingh with these companies should be found out.” These are just five of the 21 companies in which the Jayasinghs are directors, he added.

Terming the charges as a way to defame the ruling party, Pratap Jena, BJD spokesperson, said, “At present, Congress and BJP have joined hands to defame us in the State. Why is the file being reopened now when Pradip Sethi was interrogated around one and half years ago and charge sheet has already been made in the chit-fund scam case? Apart from this, how come CBI’s secret documents are in the hands of politicians? The motive is to defame us while raising an unnecessary issue.”

Earlier in the day, Dasburma met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at his office in the state secretariat in Bhubaneswar. Though the exact reason behind the meeting is yet to be known, speculation is rife that this was in the context of CBI’s notice to the Das Verma.

Health minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, Energy minister Pranab Prakas Das, Law minister Arun Sahu and Higher Education minister Pradeep Panigrahi were also present during the meeting between Das Verma and the Chief Minister.

On Thursday, a team of lawyers, led by the advocate of the Food and Civil Supply minister Mihir Mohanty, visited the CBI office and submitted documents relating to two Pajero SUVs and other vehicles which are in the name of family members of Dasburma.

Notably, the CBI had issued a notice to Dasburma on April 4 and had sought details about the ownership of the two Pajero SUVs, including any vehicle he may have sold or disposed of, following allegations that the minister was gifted with the vehicles by Artha Tatwa chief Pradip Sethi.