Chit fund scam: After 8-hour long questioning on Saturday, Kolkata Police Chief to be grilled again today; ex-TMC MP summoned

After eight-hour-long questioning by the CBI, Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar will be grilled again by the agency on Sunday, in connection with the chit fund scam cases. 

 

Kumar was interrogated at the highly secured CBI office at Oakland area in the Meghalaya capital where three senior CBI sleuths from Delhi reached on Friday.

 

The agency may confront the commissioner with former Trinamool Congress MP Kunal Ghosh who has also been called on Sunday but a final call will be taken by the investigation officer who is present in Shillong, officials said. 

 

The CBI is relying on a 91-page letter from Ghosh, who was expelled by TMC, to the Enforcement Directorate, detailing the role of Kumar in handling the ponzi scam probe after the main accused Sudipta Sen and Debjani Mukherjee, both promoters of Saradha group of companies, had fled to Kashmir, officials said in Kolkata.

Sen and Mukherjee were arrested in 2013 from Kashmir.

 

Earlier on Saturday, the Kolkata police chief arrived at the probe agency's office at 11 am, along with his counsel Biswajit Deb and senior IPS officers Javed Shamim and Murlidhar Sharma.

 

According to officials, Kumar's counsel and the two IPS officers were asked to leave the CBI office within 30 minutes.

 

The Supreme Court on Tuesday had directed the Kolkata Police chief to appear before the CBI and "faithfully" cooperate in the investigation of cases arising out of the Saradha chit fund scam, while making it clear that he will not be arrested.

 

The CBI had alleged in the Supreme Court that Kumar, who was leading the SIT probe into Saradha chit fund scam, tampered with the electronic evidence and handed over documents to the agency, some of which were "doctored".

 

The apex court directed him to appear before the investigating agency at a neutral place in Shillong "to avoid all unnecessary controversy".

 

CBI officials had gone to Kumar's residence in Kolkata to question him on February 3 but their attempt was thwarted by the police, following which Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee staged a three-day dharna.