Odisha: ED questions BJD MLA's son for 18 hours in misappropriation of college funds case

Bhubaneswar: The Enforcement Directorate questioned Prayas Kanti Samal, the son of BJD MLA Prafulla Samal, for over 18 hours till Wednesday morning in a case related to alleged misappropriation of funds of a private college in Odisha's Bhadrak district, officials said.

Last week, the ED had questioned his father for around eight hours in connection with the case, they said.

Prayas Kanti appeared before the ED for questioning on Tuesday, and it went on till 4.30 am on Wednesday, they said.

The agency had last month seized Rs 9 lakh in cash and a high-end car from his house in the Palaspalli area, they added.

He is accused of misappropriating crores of rupees from the Barapada School of Engineering and Technology (BSET), officials said.

The ED was investigating the case based on an FIR filed by the Odisha Police in 2016.

The ED had conducted simultaneous searches at 10 places in Bhubaneswar and Bhadrak last month as part of their inquiry under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The funds were allegedly embezzled and used for acquiring property in the name of BSET for personal monetary gains, officials said.

Forged and fabricated documents were also used to purchase and sell the college's properties, they said.

Prafulla Samal, a former minister in the Naveen Patnaik government, is the MLA of Bhandaripokhari in Bhadrak. He rejected the allegations, and termed the ED's action "vindictive" and "politically motivated".