Bhubaneswar, Aug 26: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today seized a laptop belonging to chairman-cum-managing director of Artha Tatwa (AT) group Pradeep Sethy from one of his close aides.
Sources said that the laptop might have vital information regarding Sethy’s alleged nexus with influential persons, including politicians.
His company has duped hundreds of investors in the state and outside.
“We are going through his laptop,” said a CBI official.
Earlier the central agency had seized around 30 computers and hard discs from the Kharvela Nagar office of the group during their raid on August 17.
In another development, the CBI today took Sethy and another director of the group Srikrushna Padhi on a 10-day remand for further interrogation. Besides, the CBI also took one of directors of the company Sambit Kumar Khuntia under two days of extended remand. Khuntia was today produced before the court of special chief judicial magistrate, CBI, at the end of his 10-day remand.
Sources said that the CBI might interrogate Sethy, Padhi, Khuntia and another director of the group Jyotiprakash together to extract information about the company’s dubious activities and the political patronage that it enjoyed.
Jyotiprakash is already in the custody of the central agency.
Sethy had raised suspicion on the investigation of police, as the police did not initiate any action against 22 persons who had availed themselves of financial benefits from the company.
Sources said that the CBI would conduct raids on other directors and key functionaries of the company who are on a run after the central agency took over the case from the commissionerate police.
Sethy had revealed before media that as many as 55 influential persons, including politicians, had got financial benefits worth Rs 65 crore from the company.
The CBI on August 16 raided 60 locations, including house of BJD’s Banki legislator Pravat Tripathy, for their alleged links with the company. The central agency had nabbed Khuntia from Khurda and subsequently arrested Jyotiprakash.
