CBI grills OCA secretary Ashirbad Behera for fifth time

BHUBANESWAR: For the fifth time,  Odisha Cricket Association (OCA)  Secretary Ashirbad Behera deposed before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) here on Monday in connection with the chit fund money transactions in Odisha Premier League (OPL).

Besides OCA secretary, four other officials of OCA also deposed before the CBI.  The investigating sleuths thoroughly quizzed officials including Behera. This is the fifth time OCA secretary Ashirbad Behera has appeared before the  CBI.

The OCA secretary is being questioned about the links between Artha Tatwa (AT) Group and OCA and how much money the Ponzi firm had invested during the first season of Odisha Premiere League (OPL) which was organised by OCA in 2011. Apart from that, he along with the officials are also questioned regarding the investments made by Swastik India Multi State Credit Cooperative’s MD Ranjan Das, said sources.

According to reports, OCA had received Rs 1 crore from AT Group as the group was the title sponsor of OPL-I. The amount was spent on organising OPL-I and sponsoring some junior cricketers to undergo training under former Odisha coach Michael Bevan in Australia. While  Swastik India chief Ranjan Das

Notably, CBI has arrested  Swastik India chief Ranjan Das, Pramod Parida and Sabyasachi Pani a few days ago.   Ranjan Das has invested the chit fund money in Balasore Bagha team, a franchise of the Odisha Premiere League (OPL). The CBI revealed that Swastik India had duped around Rs 22 crore from gullible depositors.