HC wants producer shifted to super-specialty hospital

Cuttack: The Orissa high court has ordered the treatment of well-known producer of Bengali films, Shrikant Mohta, in a super-specialty hospital. Mohta has been in judicial custody at Jharpada jail in Bhubaneswar since CBI arrested him on January 24 for his alleged links with Rose Valley, one of the major players in the unauthorised deposit collection scam. Mohta had filed a bail application on June 20 and later filed an interim application for bail on health grounds on October 24.The interim application along with an affidavit stated that the health condition of Mohta has been “precarious” since he was sent to judicial custody. According to the interim application for bail, Mohta had suffered brain stroke twice and treated from July 6 to 14 and from August 21 to 26 at SCB Medical College Hospital, Cuttack, and AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, respectively. In pursuance of the court’s order, the superintendent of Jharpada Jail submitted a report on Mohta’s health condition.“Taking note of the Jharpada jail superintendent’s report on Friday, the single-judge bench of Justice S K Sahoo fixed December 6 for the final disposal of the matter, while directing in the interim the jail superintendent that the petitioner (Shrikant Mohta) should be treated in a super-specialty hospital,” Mohta’s counsel Suresh Chandra Tripathy said. Mohta had first moved the Orissa high court after the court of sessions judge (Khurda) in Bhubaneswar did not grant him bail on February 14, 2019. But the high court rejected his bail plea on May 13. Subsequently, he filed the second bail application and then interim application on health grounds.Mohta, co-founder of Shree Venkatesh Films Pvt Limited (SVFPL), is accused of entering into a conspiracy with Rose Valley and embezzling crores of rupees on the pretext of producing films. According to the high court’s May 13, 2019, bail rejection order, the CBI had during investigations found alleged exchange of money between Mohta and Gautam Kundu, founder of the Rose Valley Group of Companies.