Bhubaneswar: Odisha Television Limited (OTV) has refuted the allegations made by Artha Tatwa (AT) chief Pradeep Sethy earlier in the day and clarified that its transactions whatsoever with the now-disgraced chit fund company have been transparent and done as per the relevant rules and regulations.
Speaking to media while being taken to court, Sethy had accused OTV of taking Rs 5.5 crore from him on account of advertisements and demanded that the matter be investigated into.
Rubbishing Sethy’s claims, OTV Vice-President Ratikant Satpathy said, “The deals with AT group on account of advertisements have been quite transparent and as per the prevailing rates of that time. While accepting bookings of the advertisements from AT and broadcasting them, we have adhered to same principles applicable to our other advertisers also.”
“Moreover, it is OTV which had brought the chit fund scam to the fore. Such statements by the accused so many days after being arrested appear to be motivated. We will seek legal recourse against the baseless and defamatory statements of the scam accused,” he added.
Commenting on the development, OTV Chief Editor Soumyajit Pattnaik said, “Our channel will carry on with its fearless campaign to expose the scamsters in future too. We will not be cowed down by any such vilification campaign against us.”