Sudipta Sen threatens to disclose involvement of politicians in the chit-fund scam
He was arrested this morning by CBI sleuths.
The most wanted man of Bengal, Sudipta Sen, along with his close aide Debjani Mukherjee, their driver Rajeeb and another Saradha group official were apprehended from Kashmir's Sonemarg on Tuesday.
The accused were charged under Indian Penal Code sections -- 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent), 420 (cheating) and 120B (punishment of criminal conspiracy).
The central agency had prayed for 10 days custody of the accused, but the court granted a week.
In a written reply, Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said three cases in West Bengal and one case in Odisha have been registered by CBI.
The agency had summoned him in January too but he sought time, citing the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament, they said.
The quizmaster-turned-parliamentarian was interrogated for about two hours on some financial transactions in bank accounts related to the TMC mouthpiece 'Jago Bangla'.
The CBI action came a day after the agency filed its second charge sheet in the case alleging that former director general (state armed police) and Trinamool Vice President Rajat Majumdar and East Bengal Club official Debabrata Sarkar were beneficiaries of the money collected through chit fund scam.
The owner of a rural chit fund firm, active in two south Bengal districts, died on Thursday in Hooghly district taking the ponzi scheme fiasco deaths in the state to 14.
The chargesheet had been filed under sections 120b, 409 and 420 of IPC (criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and cheating) and also under sections four and six of Prize, Chit and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act 1978.
The agency has also called former Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Kunal Ghosh to Shillong on February 10.
Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Srinjoy Bose was on Friday arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation after a marathon interrogation for five hours for his alleged involvement in the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam.
The Rajya Sabha MP, who is also a spokesperson of West Bengal's ruling party, was asked to appear before a CBI team in the first week of August, officials said on Friday.
Speculation is rife that beleaguered Mukul Roy, a close aide of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and under the CBI scanner in the Saradha chit fund scam, may switch over to the BJP. Neither Roy or the BJP have commented on the rumours. But Roy's recent remarks seems to expose him. Sheela Bhatt and Indrani Roy report.
The agency said the recall of the order granting Kumar an interim protection from the arrest was necessary.
Rajeev Kumar, the Kolkata police commissioner, is known for his impeccable investigating and electronic surveillance skills.
Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday registered a record number of 46 cases in a day in connection with its probe in the Rs 10,000-crore Saradha chit fund scam naming Trinamool Congress' sitting Rajya Sabha MP Kunal Ghosh as one of the accused.
Suspended Trinamool Congress MP and Saradha scam accused Kunal Ghosh on Friday allegedly tried to commit suicide by taking sleeping pills inside the Alipore Central Jail, West Bengal Correctional Home Services Minister H A Swafi said.
About 17 lakh investors, mostly in West Bengal, who have lost crores of rupees in the Saradha chit fund scam are fast losing hope. The scandal continues to roil West Bengal political circles with several ruling Trinamool Congress leaders being implicated and some arrested. Even West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's name has been dragged into the sordid mess. Indrani Roy presents a FAQ on what the scam is about and the main players behind it.