Bijoy seeks CBI probe into Ghangapatna land scam

Odisha Channel Bureau Bhubaneswar, Sep 10: Senior BJP leader Bijoy Mohapatra on Wednesday demanded that the CBI probe into the Ghangapatna land scam involving many senior leaders of the ruling Biju Janata Dal.The BJP leader also questioned the silence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik over the issue.Patnaik was maintaining silence because one of his close colleagues was involved in the scam where 76 persons had acquired land by fraudulent means, he alleged.The construction of a road to the encroached land was also started with funds from the Panchayati Raj Department, he alleged.Alleging that the State government was in the know of the happenings in Ghangapatna, Mohapatra said the process of land settlement that was initiated in 1995 was stopped in many villages in Jatni and Khurda in 2010, including Ghangapatna, to facilitate the land scam.Observing that Crime Branch probe order into the land scam at Ghangapatna will be of no help, the BJP leader demanded that the matter be handed over to the CBI for a fair probe.The Crime Branch was working only for the protection of those in power, he alleged.Mohapatra further said that the land scam and CBI probe into the chit fund scam indicates that bad times are ahead of the BJD Government in the State.