Bhubaneswar: Former Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MLA Pravat Ranjan Biswal on Sunday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), even as the criminal trial against him in the multi-crore Seashore chit fund scam remains pending.

Accompanied by over 10,000 supporters, Biswal was formally inducted into the BJP in the presence of Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and other senior party leaders, following a grand procession from Master Canteen to the party's headquarters in Unit-III, Bhubaneswar.

Orissa High Court recently ordered expedited trial in Seashore scam case

His entry into the BJP comes just 10 days after the Orissa High Court refused to quash the criminal proceedings against him in the Seashore chit fund case. On July 2, the High Court dismissed Biswal's petition seeking to halt the CBI investigation and trial, directing the Special CBI Court to complete the proceedings within six months to ensure an expeditious conclusion.

Biswal had approached the High Court citing prolonged delays in the trial. However, the court declined to interfere with the ongoing criminal proceedings.

According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Biswal and his wife were allegedly involved in a Rs 25 lakh land transaction linked to funds diverted from the Seashore Group. The agency has alleged that the payment was made through cheques and later returned in cash after the land deal was cancelled, with documents allegedly fabricated to facilitate the transaction.

The charges against Biswal include criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust and forgery.

The CBI arrested Biswal in 2017 in connection with the case. He was granted bail by the Orissa High Court in 2018. In 2022, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached assets worth Rs 3.92 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) as part of its investigation into the alleged scam.

The Seashore chit fund scam is among Odisha's largest financial fraud cases, with allegations that thousands of investors were duped of hundreds of crores of rupees through illegal deposit schemes.

Biswal's political shift follows his expulsion from the BJD earlier this year for alleged indiscipline and anti-party activities after he openly opposed the candidature of Santrupt Misra, political secretary to BJD president Naveen Patnaik, in the Rajya Sabha elections held on March 16, 2026. 

A three-time MLA from the Cuttack-Choudwar Assembly constituency, Biswal was denied a BJD ticket in the 2019 Assembly elections. The party instead fielded his son, Souvic Biswal, who won the seat in 2019 and successfully retained it in the 2024 Odisha Assembly elections on a BJD ticket.