Seashore Chit Fund Scam: CBI Summons IAS Officer, Ex-Bureaucrat

Bhubaneswar: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has served notices to a senior IAS officers and a former bureaucrat, both of Odisha cadre, for their alleged complicity in the Seashore chit fund scam.

The central investigating agency has summoned IAS officer Parag Gupta and retired IAS officer Sangram Keshari Ray to its Bhubaneswar branch office for interrogation on July 2.

Gupta is currently on central deputation and posted as joint secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries.

It may be mentioned that Gupta was the State Tourism secretary when MoUs were signed between the Tourism department and the Seashore Group of Companies to develop tourism at Atri in Khurda district, Nrusinghanath in Bargarh, Harishankar and Ranipur-Jharial in Balangir and a boating club on the banks of the Mahanadi in Cuttack district.

However, the state government later cancelled the MoUs and brought these aforesaid projects under the control of the Tourism department and handed over the related files to the CBI for investigation. Tourism minister Ashok Chandra Panda had informed the State Assembly in this regard during the winter session on December 4, 2014.

Since Ray was the General Manager of the Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) during the signing of the MoUs, the CBI has also summoned him.

Notably, CBI Special Director Rakesh Asthana had a closed-door review meeting in Bhubaneswar on June 18 with the investigating officers probing the chit fund scam.