BJD tampering with evidence in Das Burma case: Opposition

Admin   |   13 April, 2016   |   718   |   3980

Bhubaneswar: The Opposition Congress and BJP on Tuesday came down heavily on the ruling BJD for allegedly tampering with evidence to protect food supplies minister Sanjay Das Burma, who has been accused of having links with Pradeep Sethy, CMD of Artha Tatwa (AT) Group, a chit fund company.



The opposition parties alleged the ruling BJD has been pressurizing Sethy, who vouched for the minister's innocence on Monday though earlier he had confessed to the CBI about his links with Das Burma.

"The BJD and Das Burma are tampering with evidence. Sethy, who in September 2014 told the CBI that he gave an SUV to Das Burma, suddenly changed his version in front of the media on Monday, indicating the minister's influence on him," said BJP spokesperson Sajjan Sharma.



BJP alleged Das Burma influenced Sethy with the help of a police inspector, who is a close relative of the chit fund accused.



"We strongly suspect that the inspector mediated between Sethy and Das Burma. The minister availed several benefits from Sethy via the inspector.



CBI should find out who met Sethy in jail or spoke to him over telephone in the past few months. Sethy should also undergo lie-detection test. Das Burma should resign immediately to ensure a fair and impartial probe," said Sharma.

Senior Congress MLA and leader of opposition Narasingha Mishra trained his gun on chief minister Naveen Patnaik for allegedly facilitating a telephonic conversation between Sethy and a news channel on Monday.



"The accused cannot speak over cellphone on court premises. Shockingly, the police allowed Sethy to speak to a news channel from the court premises. Naveen Patnaik, who heads the home department, facilitated the talk to protect his aide from the CBI," Mishra said.



While Das Burma could not be contacted, BJD refuted the allegations.



"Our party or the state government has nothing to do with what Sethy told the media. We are not trying to influence or pressurize anyone," said BJD spokesperson Amar Satpathy.