Trinamool Congress general secretary who was on Friday subjected to marathon grilling by the CBI in connection with the Saradha chit fund case “cooperated substantially” with the investigators giving sufficient reasons for the top Trinamool brass to panic, experts said. Roy, a former Railway Minister and known for his Machiavellian ways, was grilled in three sessions for about four and a half hours before the sleuths let him go. He could again be called after the officers compared the evidences they had with the new “valuable information” extracted from Roy.
“I have said from the first day when I got their summons that I also want the truth to be revealed and for that I will fully cooperate with the CBI,” Roy said adding “if the CBI wants me to appear again and again I will make myself available for questioning.” He said thousands of people had lost their hard-earned deposits and “it is necessary to find out where the money went” adding he “have told the CBI whatever I knew.” Even the Supreme Court had given similar orders, he said. However, the leader would not dwell on what transpired between the two sides as “that is part of the probe process and that should not be made public in the interest of investigations.”
“Cooperation” particularly came in the form of a few crucial questions which he reportedly answered to his interrogators’ “satisfaction” sources said adding among the crucial questions were the reported “unofficial meeting” held in the dead of night featuring Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Roy, Kunal Ghosh, Sudipto Sen and Rose Valley group’s CMD Gautam Kundu whose activities were also under scanner.
In an obvious reference to some powerful people Roy said no one who took people’s money should go scot-free while the CBI officials said his statements had enough ammunition to go after some more influential persons. Incidentally while news of Roy cooperating with the CBI started coming out Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who was addressing a meeting reportedly told his audience “there is no reason to fear. Everything is fine.”
Roy was grilled in three sessions. While in the first session he “fully cooperated” with the CBI in the second session he tried to circumvent some questions and even put some counter questions to his grillers. In the third round he reportedly was taken to the Joint Director where he was made to clarify the questions that he had circumvented or denied by showing him some digital evidences to which he was “surprised for some time.”
However even in denying or getting round some questions he dropped hints “that have sufficient materials and amounts to cooperation” CBI sources said. Curiously a few things struck the media eye from the time Roy entered the CBI complex and by when he left. First unlike on previous occasions when hundreds of Trinamool supporters agitated outside the CBI office at the CGO Complex when leaders like Madan Mitra were arrested Roy went against the party line directing his supporters to leave the complex as “I will go alone.”
Secondly two MlAs including Sabyasachi Dutta of Rajarhaat who had a few days ago revolted against the party and was a likely candidate for suspension in January 31 Trinamool core committee meeting stayed by the leader’s side throughout the day giving sufficient indications that the party was going through an internal unrest.
Curiously as well there was no spontaneous celebration in the Trinamool camp after Roy who reportedly had sufficient evidences against him was allowed to go back home. While a North Kolkata MlA requesting anonymity said “Mukul da is more dangerous when not arrested” his colleague from North 24 Parganas said “party will gain from his release.” Meanwhile the CBI on Friday placed a report in a designated court saying jailed leaders Madan Mitra and Rajat Majumdar were not cooperating with the probe though they had incriminating evidences against them. The court remanded Mitra to two-week jail custody.
