By Our Sports Affairs Bureau
CUTTACK/BHUBANESWAR: Pankaj Lochan Mohanty alias ‘Kuna Babu’, who owns MGM Mines and MGM Group of Companies and Sanjay Behera, son of tainted cricket administrator Ashirbad Behera , were on Friday won the President and Secretary posts of the Odisha Cricket Association.
Sources said out of 73 votes polled, 45 went in favour of Sanjay , making its once again clear that former secretary and Sanjay’s father Ashirbad Behera, who is cooling his heels in Jharpada Special Jail in Bhubaneswar, has considerable influence in OCA and its affiliated bodies.
Ashirbad voted from jail. Ashirbad voted through postal ballot.He sent his postal ballot through the jail staff from SCB Medical College and Hospital here, where he is currently undergoing treatment in custody.
Ashirbad, who is above 70 years of age, has served the OCA for a cumulative period of over nine years, had to step down in February 2017 to fall in line with the Lodha Committee
For the post of OCA President, Pankaj Lochan Mohanty of Boudh district defeated former OCA treasurer Pradeep Chouhan by six votes. Pankaj got 38 votes while Chouhan managed to rope in 32 votes in his favour.
While Naba Ranjan Pattnaik from the mighty Pattnaik family of Keonjhar lost the battle by 20 votes. On the other hand, Bikash Pradhan was elected as Treasurer, Mehtab Khan as Joint Secretary, Akshaya Kumar Samant as Vice President. Bikash Pradhan of Khurda polling 40 votes in his favour was elected as the treasurer of the OCA defeating Anil Kumar Biswal of Jagatsinghpur by a margin of ten votes.Earlier Suvashis Senapati of Kendrapara was elected unopposed for a single post of OCA’s Apex Council member.
The Central Bureau of Investigation had on September 19 arrested former OCA secretary Ashirbad Behera over his alleged complicity in the Artha Tatwa Group chit fund scam.
