Bhubaneswar, Sep 25 (IANS) A special CBI court in Odisha has sent former state advocate general Ashok Mohanty to judicial custody till Sep 30, a lawyer said Thursday.

Mohanty was in Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) custody on a two-day remand after being arrested Monday from his home in Cuttack, 25 km from here, for his alleged links with the Artha Tatwa group.

The court Wednesday evening rejected Mohanty's bail plea and sent him to judicial custody, public prosecutor for CBI, Kali Charan Mishra, told IANS.

The court also rejected the bail plea of Madhu Mohanty, a real estate developer and owner of Odia daily Odisha Bhaskar, and real estate broker Dharmendra Bothra, who were both arrested earlier this month.

The court sent both of them to judicial custody until Sep 30, he added.

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. These 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.

Mohanty, Das and Bothra have been arrested for their alleged link with the Artha Tatwa group.