Accusing the Odisha government of being hand in gloves with various ponzi companies looting poor investors, Congress today demanded a CBI probe and a white paper on the issue before walking out of the Assembly.

Bhubaneswar: Accusing the Odisha government of being hand in gloves with various ponzi companies looting poor investors, Congress today demanded a CBI probe and a white paper on the issue before walking out of the Assembly.

The government, however, said it had taken many steps to contain the illegal activities of such companies. The issue was debated in the House through an adjournment motion where Congress members held the BJD government responsible for the cheating of people by ponzi companies.

Leader of the Opposition Bhupinder Singh said the state government passed a bill to protect investors in 2011 after realising that ponzi companies were duping depositors, it did not take any action against the offenders.

"Passing off the bill itself speaks that the government was aware of illegal activities of ponzi companies," senior Congress member Chakradhar Paik said and alleged that the state government gave two years time to such dubious companies to loot the public.

There was no point to wait till implementation of The Odisha Protection of Interests of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act, 2011. It could have taken action against dubious companies under various IPC sections, Paik said.

Demanding a CBI probe into the chit fund scam, he said, "Crime Branch of Odisha Police is not capable of handling the issue as several companies were registered under Multi-State Cooperative Society rules."

Targeting Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Bhupinder Singh said, "Patnaik himself attended various meetings of ponzi companies thereby encouraging them to loot the people."

Singh also criticised the state government for conducting a dual investigation into the multi-crore scam. "While Crime Branch is investigating some cases, others are handled by police."

Rejecting the allegations, Finance Minister Prasanna Acharya said the state government had taken enough steps to contain activities of ponzi companies in the state.

"We have registered nine cases against such companies in 2009, seven in 2010, 11 in 2011, 33 in 2012 and 26 cases in 2013 before implementation of the new legislation. We are not sitting silently as alleged by the opposition," Acharya said.

Giving details of the state government's action against ponzi companies, the finance minister said actions were taken against 159 companies and as many as 425 cases registred against them. "The Crime Branch of Police has also filed charge-sheet in 236 out of total 425 cases," he said.

He said police have arrested 640 people including heads and chairman-cum managing directors, directors of different ponzi companies.

The finance minister also said as many as 7,46,568 affidavits have been submitted by the depositors at the judicial commission probing the multi-crore chitfund scam.

PTI