Hansdah on his way to court on Wednesday. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, Nov. 5: The state’s patronage to the Naba Diganta group came to the fore with the arrested BJD MP Ramchandra Hansdah stating that the company had secured 16 projects worth Rs 4 crore from the Naveen Patnaik government.

Hansdah was the founder-director of the money deposit collection company.

The projects included setting up of a girls’ hostel for tribal students in his Mayurbhanj Lok Sabha constituency.

Hansdah, who, along with two former MLAs, Subarana Nayak of the BJD and Hitesh Bagarti of the BJP, were taken on a six-day remand by the CBI, however, did not give details of the projects being undertaken by the group.

Hansdah told reporters outside the CBI office that the central agency had arrested him to gain cheap popularity. “It is a bigger political conspiracy to defame the popular BJD government in the state. I am innocent and I told them that the company had duped us. I am no way involved in their business.”

Sources said the company’s business flourished when the three had been its directors between 2011 and 2013. Besides getting contracts for the company from the government, the group has also brought lands at Khandargiri and Niladri Vihar in Bhubaneswar to construct apartments. It has also brought a stone crusher unit near Khurda.

Former BJP MLA Bagarti said: “I am no way involved in their business. I hope that investors got their money back.”

The three leaders were medically examined before being produced in the CBI court. During the remand, the CBI will try to find out the money trail part of the deposit collection company. All of them were arrested yesterday on charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating and diversion of funds. Sources said the CBI stumbled upon the fact that the three accused persons had also operated nearly 41 bank accounts and taken part in the company’s deliberations.

The company’s chairman-cum-managing director Anjan Kumar Baliar Singh, who is also on remand with the CBI custody, claimed that out of the Rs 14.7 crore collected from the investors, the company had already returned Rs 7.27 crore.

The interrogation of Banki MLA Pravat Tripathy, who was arrested on October 31 and is on a 14-day remand, is said to have made tardy progress as the leader is reportedly unwell. His family members have wanted an orthopaedic surgeon to attend on him. Doctors from Capital Hospital have visited Tripathy at the CBI office.

In the evening, CBI officials interrogated Dillip Mohanty, a former Pradesh Congress Committee secretary, and Vineet Lalani, a real estate owner for their alleged alleged link with money deposit collection company Artha Tatwa.

In another development, the Opposition targeted the state government after Hansdah had claimed that the Rs 28 lakh the CBI had seized from his house in July last was part of the party funds. “Chief minister Naveen Patnaik owes an explanation,” said BJP leader Suresh Pujari. State Congress chief Jaydev Jena has demanded a probe into the money given by the BJD to Hansdah.

Cong attacks Naveen

In New Delhi, the Congress today said time for chief minister Naveen Patnaik to pretend that he was ‘Mr Clean’ was over and he should now face a comprehensive inquiry for series of scams that has happened under his nose.

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said: “There has been scams after scams. How is it possible that people around him are being investigated and arrested and he claims to Mr Clean. We demand a comprehensive inquiry by a sitting or retired judge into the extent of involvement of the Naveen Patnaik government in these scams.”