Saradha scam: Special CBI court rejects bail plea of former Advocate General Ashok Mohanty

A special CBI court on Wednesday night rejected the bail petition of former Advocate General Ashok Mohanty and two other persons who were arrested by the CBI for their alleged links with the chief of Artha Tatwa Group of companies, in connection with the Saradha chit fund scam.

Besides Mohanty, the CBI earlier in the day produced newspaper owner Madhu Mohanty and real estate broker Dharmendra Botha in the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) after completion of their remand period in the investigating agency.

CJM Padmalochan Satpathy rejected their bail petitions and remanded them to judicial remand till September 30.

The trio would be shifted to the Special jail here.

Meanwhile, the District Sessions court, Khurda today reserved verdict on the bail petition of Manoj Dash, a private television channel owner, who was also arrested in the chitfund scam involving Artha Tatwa.

The Special CBI court on September 16 had rejected Dash's bail petition earlier.

The District and Sessions Court also deferred another bail petition of AT Group Chief Pradip Sethi to September 29. Sethi was arrested by the commissionerate of police, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack, last year.