The OPL trophy

Bhubaneswar/Cuttack, July 18: The Orissa Cricket Association (OCA) sought to clarify that the Orissa Premier League (OPL) had been conducted in a fair and transparent manner.

In the wake of the state vigilance department’s inquiry into the alleged use of black money in the event, the OCA has also claimed to have made a profit of Rs 1.19 crore from the OPL.

Vigilance director Anup Patnaik said: “We have no problem with the organisers. We have a problem with the franchise owners. The OCA, as the organiser, had charged money under different heads giving playgrounds on rent, providing electricity and other facilities to the franchises. After we had asked them to prepare a balance sheet, they came out with the statement. We have nothing to do with that. Our purpose is to find out the finance arranged by the franchise owners,” said Patnaik. He said the vigilance inspection team would go through the audited report of the OCA and also the OPL franchise owners.

Commenting on the OPL management, Patnaik said: “We know that the franchise owners have incurred loss. The people involved in different scams, including the mining scam, had invested money in the OPL. Our probe is heading in that direction and we are trying to make out where from they got the money to invest. Everything would be clear after a few days.”

Earlier on July 8, Patnaik told The Telegraph that: “Illegal money coming out from the mining scam have been utilised in the OPL. Three to four mine owners are on our radar. Similarly, one of the former MVIs, Mahadev Pati, against whom the vigilance had filed cases, also invested money in the OPL. We have directed our officers to speed up the inquiry and prepare a detailed report.”

In the OPL matches, Pati had taken the franchise of the Katak Barabati Tigers at a whopping Rs 35 lakh. Pati, along with the co-owner, Siddarth Construction, had bought the franchise. Apart from Katak Barabati Tigers, the OPL had nine other franchise owners.

“The OPL was conducted in a transparent manner,” said OCA secretary Ashirbad Behera.

Addressing a news conference on Monday evening, Behera said the OCA and a number of franchise owners had welcomed the probe by the vigilance and the IT department. The OPL generated a profit of Rs 1,19,36,737.

The OCA had earlier announced that it would donate 50 per cent of the profit — Rs 60 lakh — to the government-recognised orphanages enjoying IT exemption. The other 50 per cent of the profit would be equitably distributed among the 10 franchise owners, said Behera.

The OCA secretary further said the anti-corruption wing and the IT department had asked for contract details and agreements signed with the franchise owners. “Whether the franchises invested black money or white money, the OCA had accepted it as white money. All payments had been made through bank drafts in a legal way,” said Behera.

So far, around Rs 16 lakh has been paid to the IT department in form of TDS.