Yagneswar Babu

Bhubaneswar, Sept. 27: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today questioned Odisha Jan Morcha secretary general Yagneswar Babu for his alleged links with the money circulation deposit conglomerate, Artha Tatwa (AT).

Babu was quizzed for nearly two hours on the AT’s loan to a sugar mill in Balangir district in 2011 — which he was heading at that time.

After the interrogation, Babu said: “The Sagarpally sugar factory in Balangir took a loan of Rs 2 crore from the AT Group in 2011. Being the president of the factory, I had taken the loan on behalf of the factory. I am in no way involved with the activities of the group.”

The factory has repaid a part of the loan.

On August 16, the central agency had raided Babu’s house in Balangir to find out his links with the company’s chief, Pradeep Sethy.

Later, the team had taken Babu to his village and conducted search. Babu had left the BJD after Rajya Sabha member Pyari Mohan Mohapatra was expelled from the ruling party and floated the Odisha Jan Morcha.

Subsequently, police arrested him for having allegedly committed irregularities when he was the president of the Odisha State Co-operative Bank.

Sources said the central agency was trying to find out whether Babu, during his tenure with the State Co-operative Bank, had shown any favour to the group, which had also been active in the co-operative sector.

In another development, former advocate-general (AG) Asok Mohanty, who was bailed out from jail yesterday, targeted the central agency today again for trying to link him with the activities of the group. He was also upset over the way media projected him in the episode.

“I have never tolerated any sort of injustice. You (the media) have destroyed my reputation, the only asset that I have created for myself. Without knowing the law, the way the news were displayed to get the mileage was wrong,” said Mohanty.

The CBI arrested Mohanty on September 22 on charges of misappropriating the group’s funds and his position for personal benefit.

Mohanty had bought a house in the Cuttack Development Authority area from Sethy for Rs 1.01 crore.

He had made the payment for the house in cheques, but while seven cheques worth Rs 70 lakh were realised, others worth Rs 31 lakh allegedly remained unrealised.

The former AG said the deal was done between a purchaser and seller.

“If I had not given the money, it was Sethy who could have raised the issue.” He denied having misused his official position.

“Without knowing the procedure of law and the nature of working of the advocate general’s office, one should not level these kind of allegations,” he said.

Targeting the CBI, he said: “The CBI is not an independent and impartial agency. Had this been the case, they must have tried to know the truth.”

Stating that no one is above law, Mohanty said: “I was made a pawn in the chess board. I, along with my brothers (the lawyers), will study the FIR. Accordingly, future course of action will be taken for exemplary damage and compensation.”