CBI arrests former Odisha Cricket Association secretary Ashirbad Behera in chit fund scam

Cuttack: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday arrested former Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) secretary, Ashirbad Behera, in connection with the Artha Tatwa chit fund scam case. Behera was arrested from his residence by the probe agency and from there he was taken to the CBI office in Bhubaneswar.

I have appeared five to six times before the CBI in connection with Artha Tatwa matter. So if I was guilty, the probe agency should have arrested me in 2014. I have already produced all relevant documents: Former OCA secretary Ashirbad Behera after his arrest #Odisha pic.twitter.com/6SanRvCfpx

— OTV (@otvnews) September 19, 2019

The former OCA secretary was under the CBI scanner since 2014. The agency had interrogated him several times on allegations of his links with the Artha Tatwa Group. Last month, the CBI had filed a supplementary charge sheet against Behera in the case. As per the charge sheet, Behera allegedly received around Rs 1 crore as part of a deal to promote the Ponzi firm. In response to his arrest, Behera said that he had appeared five to six times before the CBI in connection and if he was guilty, he would have been arrested in 2014 itself. He further reiterated his innocence, saying that he had produced all the necessary documents before the CBI.