The Supreme Court has directed senior IPS officer Rajeev Kumar to respond to the petition of appeal filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation seeking cancellation of anticipatory bail of the former Kolkata Commissioner of Police.

The Bench of Chief Justice SA Bobde on Friday sent a notice to Kumar asking him to respond against the CBI’s appeal challenging his bail earlier granted by a Division Bench of Calcutta High Court.

The Apex Court also told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that the investigating agency must satisfy it about why it needed the senior officer in custody before getting an order in its favour.

Kumar’s role as the chief of the Special Investigation Team in multi-crore Saradha chit fund case had come under cloud with the CBI alleging that he had not on y tampered with the opposition apparently to save the topmost ruling party politicians of the State but also suppressed many evidence.

The Saradha group of companies allegedly cheated lakhs of people to the tune of Rs  2,500 crore, promising higher rates of return on their investments.

The High Court order had said if Rajeev Kumar was arrested by the CBI in connection with the case, he would have to be released immediately on bail by an appropriate court on two sureties of Rs 50,000 each.

While Kumar’s counsel had been saying that he had been cooperating with the CBI in the probe, CBI said he was not doing so and had in fact refused to appear before the Agency for more than three weeks remaining underground in the month of September-October.

It had directed Rajeev Kumar, who is currently the Additional Director General of the West Bengal Criminal Investigation Department (CID), to cooperate with investigating officers.

It had also directed him to make himself available before the investigating officers in the case for questioning on a 48-hour prior notice by the CBI.

Earlier Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had openly come out in Kumar’s defence and started a sit-in protest against the Centre’s move leading Opposition BJP and Left to question true reason behind her getting so concerned about Kumar.

Incidentally the top officer had allegedly parried critical questions from the CBI saying he had instructions from “higher authorities,” the agency officials allege adding he has failed to provide clue to a “red diary, pen drives, lap tops and some other objects seized from the Saradha premises” and referred to by one Debjani Mukherjee one of theprime accused in the case.