Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Television Limited (OTV) on Thursday has welcomed the decision of the Odisha Crime Branch to handover the Sarua land probe to the Income Tax department, while stating that the police had resorted to filing a string of fake cases to harass OTV and its' group companies, including the Odisha Infratech Private Limited (OIPL), in the case where it had no jurisdiction.
"We welcome the matter being handed over to the Income Tax department. From the beginning we have been saying that this is not under the purview of the state police, but yet many fake cases have been filed against our employees and group companies, including Odisha Infratech ltd. and they are being harassed. We have been arguing and pushing the same in courts as well, that this is not a state police issue and will not stand in court. Finally we are glad that they have accepted it and have forwarded it to Income Tax dept as demanded by us in Odisha High Court today. We welcome this move," a release from the media house said.
Earlier today, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the State Crime Branch said that the Income Tax department will probe the financial transactions in the purchase of 7.29 acres of land at Sarua in Khordha district.
It is pertinent to mention that despite a clean chit given by a Tehsil-appointed government 'amin' that there was no encroachment of land at Sarua in Khurda district, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Odisha Crime Branch on November 1 arrested Manoranjan Sarangi, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of OTV.
The police had booked him under Indian Penal Code (IPC), Sections 420,423,467,468,471 and 120-B, along with Sections 3 (1) (g) (q) of SC & ST (POA) Act.
Adding to the instances of targeted harassment, the Baghamari police had arrested an engineer and a supervisor working at the campus of OTV Studio in Sarua on October 31, who approached the police with a complaint after they were attacked by a group of contract workers without provocation. Though the entire incident was captured by CCTV cameras, it failed to impress the police in bringing the actual attackers to book. Instead, the victims had been rounded up.
Prior to that, the Khordha district administration had demolished the boundary wall of OTV’s Sarua CSR project without issuing any prior notice, October 14.