Bhubaneswar, Sep 15 (IANS): The owners of two media companies arrested by the CBI over their alleged role in the multi-crore-rupee chit fund scam in Odisha were Monday presented in a court here.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) presented Madhu Mohanty, a real estate developer and owner of Odia daily Odisha Bhaskar, and Manoj Das, the owner of Kamyab TV, a local television channel, before the special chief judicial magistrate in Bhubaneswar, a lawyer told IANS.

The CBI is investigating the chit fund scam on the direction of the Supreme Court.

The scam came to light after a large number of investors last year complained that many firms collected huge amounts of money from them promising high returns, but later refused to pay them back as promised.

The CBI is probing at least 44 companies in Odisha. They include Kolkata-based Saradha Group, and Odisha-based Seashore and Artha Tatwa groups. The loss from the scam is claimed to be running into thousands of crores of rupees.

Both Mohanty and Dash have been arrested for their alleged link with the Artha Tatwa group.