Cuttack, Dec. 6: The crime branch of Odisha police today continued its groundwork for probe into the affairs of Odisha Olympic Association (OOA).
The police launched an inspection of records at the OOA headquarters at Barabati Stadium. Crime branch sleuths had yesterday collected from the Sadar Cuttack tehsil office records relating to the land OOA had allegedly encroached upon at the stadium.
The investigating agency also conducted simultaneous inspection of records at the Football Association (FAO) office at the Barabati Stadium and Barabati Palace - the kalyan mandap that had come up on the encroached government land.
Twenty crime branch officials, including personnel from its Economic Offences Wing (EOW), were divided into three teams during the record inspection operation.
'The association's income, expenditure, transactions with affiliated associations, operations and finance will be under the purview of the investigation,' a crime branch official said on condition of anonymity.
The OOA is the apex sports body for state associations for different games - football, hockey, table tennis, basketball among others and the district athletic associations.
'As the high court had ordered the crime branch probe, all records were provided as sought by the inquiring team,' OOA general secretary Ashirbad Behera said.
Incidentally, Behera is also secretary of Odisha Cricket Association (OCA). He has been quizzed by the CBI as the OCA is under the scanner of the central investigating agency for alleged links with a deposit collection company, which has duped thousands of investors in the state.
Today, several officials of the CBI too quizzed the officials of the OCA. There were allegations that some of the scam-tainted companies had provided finance for holding Odisha Premier League matches. On November 29, Orissa High Court had directed the additional director-general of police (crime branch) to probe the affairs of OOA and submit a report within three months.
The court had issued the probe order while dealing with a dispute involving a land allegedly encroached by OOA. The encroached area is adjacent to a larger area, which was granted on lease to OOA by the state government in 1949 for constructing the Barabati Stadium.
The court found that OOA had apparently permitted M/s INCON Associates to construct a Kalyan Mandap on the encroached land and later signed an agreement with it while the dispute was pending before the subordinate court.
The court felt an inquiry was necessary as the affairs of OOA are prima facie not clean and its entire deal is fraught with malafide. A single judge bench of Justice B.P. Ray was of the prima facie view that the affairs of OOA have become 'the parental property of some individuals'.
Incidentally, Asirbad Behera's son Sanjay Behera is the secretary of FAO. Junior Behera also runs Barabati Palace.
In pursuance of the high court order, the district administration had on November 30 taken possession of the Kalyan Mandap (Barabati Palace) and 23 shops that had come up on 0.705 acres of encroached land adjacent to the 20.808 acres of land the state government had granted on lease to OOA in 1949 for construction of the stadium.
'The assistant manager of Cuttack Circuit House has been given additional charge as interim manager of Barabati Palace. To assist him two staff members have been provided from the office of the tehsildar (Sadar Cuttack)', collector, Cuttack, Nirmal Chandra Mishra said.
'Besides, an interest bearing bank account has already been opened for deposit of rents collected from the tenants of the shops and the rent received from the Barabati Palace. In fact, the process of depositing the collected money in the bank account has already started,' Mishra said.
