Bhubaneswar: Bargarh MP Pradeep Purohit stoked a controversy on Sunday by linking fraud accused Hansita Abhilipsa and Anil Mohanty with a former minister in the previous BJD government.
The duo was arrested by Infocity police on December 30 last year for allegedly duping several people by posing as the daughter and son-in-law of P K Mishra, principal secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Speaking to the media, Purohit said that the former minister from Kalahandi, who held the industries portfolio, had allocated several projects to them in violation of rules and regulations, leading to misappropriation of government funds worth several hundred crores of rupees.
He requested the Mohan Majhi government to bring the minister and a few other MLAs, who helped the duo, under the purview of investigation.
Hansita, a native of Kalahandi district, was reportedly active in rural politics in Kandhamal in 2017. Her stock rose exponentially in the last three to four years as she allegedly earned quick money.
Notably, BJD MLA from Kalahandi’s Junagarh Dibya Shankar Mishra had served as Minister of Energy, Industries; Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises in the Naveen Patnaik government.
These allegations have come a day after the Income Tax department stumbled upon a startling transaction of Rs 120 crore between a ‘corporate entity’ and the accused while trailing their financials. “Out of the total transactions, it has been ascertained that Rs 65 crore was untaxed,” TNIE reported, quoting I-T department sources.
Earlier in the week, property of Hansita, her ex-husband Saroj Kumar Sahoo and Anil in three states – Odisha, West Bengal and Jharkhand – were searched and seized 300 gm gold ornaments.. The I-T department has also provisionally attached four flats and five luxury vehicles registered in the names of Hansita, Saroj and Anil.
Hansita had reportedly spent Rs 90 lakh on designing interiors of a flat through a New Delhi-based firm to give it the feel of a five-star hotel.
The duo had photographed themselves with influential individuals, including bureaucrats and politicians, and allegedly swindled businessmen by promising to facilitate their work through government connections. Mohanty, a resident of Bhubaneswar, was in the mining business before he came in contact with Hansita, who holds degrees in rural management and MA in sociology, a few years ago.
The BJD is yet to respond to these allegations.
