Koraput: Senior politician and former MP Jayaram Pangi appears to be in trouble as a court in Odisha’s Koraput district issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against him on the complaint of his driver.
As per the complaint filed by his driver Gopalkrishna Jena, the ex-MP had allegedly borrowed Rs.87 lakh from him for a petrol pump and gas depot. A few days after receiving Rs.33 lakh, Pangi was stated to have paid Rs.1 lakh as interest to Jena.
However, as the rest of the money was not received, Jena took moved the court of Nayagarh Sub-Divisional Magistrate. Pangi obtained a bail from the court in this case.
Subsequently, the court in Pottangi in Koraput directed Pangi to appear before the Nayagarh court. But failed to appear. Therefore, the court issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against him. The Pottangi police station had been directed to arrest Pangi on May 3, 2023.
As per reports, Pangi had moved Orissa High Court seeking relief, but the case was sent back to the Nayagarh district court. Following this, Pottangi police station was directed to make the arrest on March 4 this year.
Refuting the allegation, Pangi told the media that he had not taken anything from Jena but was a witness when his driver paid money to a borrower who is no more now. As the borrower is not alive, Pangi said he will anyway pay him money first as the transaction had taken place in his presence.
It may be noted here that after hopping parties several times in the past, Pangi finally joined Congress in December 2023. Earlier, he had joined the Bharatiya Rashtra Samiti (BRS) led by K Chandrasekhar Rao in Hyderabad. Pangi was earlier elected as Lok Sabha MP from Koraput on a ticket from the BJD. In 2019, Pangi deserted the BJD and joined the BJP. He had unsuccessfully contested the Koraput Lok Sabha seat on BJP ticket.