Jyotiprakash Joyprakash, director of AT Group, after his arrest by CBI officials in Bhubaneswar on Sunday. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Aug. 24: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today took Jyotiprakash Joyprakash, one of the founder members of Artha Tatwa (AT) Group, on 10-day remand.

He was arrested from the city yesterday and the CBI produced him before the court of CBI’s special chief judicial magistrate here today.

Sources said that Joyprakash, a native of Bengal, was one of the directors of the company and was holding the second highest share of the firm after chairman-cum-managing director of the group Pradeep Sethy.

Joyprakash, who was considered a key player of the group for expansion of its business in Bengal, has been absconding since a case was registered against the company with Kharvela Nagar police station in February last year.

Police during its investigation had found land measuring 30 acres in the name of Joyprakash in several places across the state.

The police, too, had mentioned his name in the charge sheet filled with a trial court in Bhubaneswar.

However, Joyprakash’s arrest has once again raised suspicion on the investigation conducted by the commissionerate police.

So far, the central agency has arrested two of the directors of the group, including Sambit Kumar Khuntia and Joyprakash who had managed to remain out of the reach of the state police.

Though both of them were arrested from Bhubaneswar and Khurda, the fact that the police had failed to nab them raises suspicion about the probe initiated by the state government.

Besides, during interrogation by the CBI, Khuntia had made startling revelations regarding the involvement of a number of senior government and police officials in shielding the company.

“We will further interrogate Joyprakash to find out the alleged link of the group with politicians and other heavyweights,” said a CBI official. Sources said that the central agency would arrest a few more directors of the group who the police have failed to arrest.

Earlier, the CBI had filed a remand petition before the court of the CBI’s special chief judicial magistrate yesterday seeking a 14-day remand of Sethy. However, the court had deferred the hearing of the petition till Monday.

The AT Group has allegedly duped thousands of depositors by fraudulently collecting nearly Rs 750 crore from investors in three years (2010-2012).