In yet another setback to the ruling Trinamool Congress, the designated court at Alipore on Thursday rejected the bail petition of jailed Bengal Minister Madan Mitra in the multi-crore Saradha chit fund case. The rejection of bail prayer came two days ahead of the Saturday’s civic elections to 91 municipalities, including the Siliguri Municipal Corporation.
Mitra, who has been in jail for more than three months now, earlier, faced severe attack from another jailed Trinamool leader Kunal Ghosh, who claimed that despite being in jail, “some senior leaders, including Ministers” were enjoying status of free persons as “they are spending most part of their incarceration outside jail and in the air-conditioned enclosures of the State-run hospitals from where they are not only running their empire but also to destroying vital evidences.”
Ghosh, a Rajya Sabha member, had also threatened to take the “extreme step” (read self annihilation) “like I did before if current situation does not change where the real culprits like Ministers and MPs roam free despite being involved in bigger conspiracy and others like me have to suffer in the jail.” The ACJM on Thursday extended Mitra’s judicial remand till May 7. Meanwhile in a fresh development, a team of CBI officers on Thursday conducted a marathon raid in about 10 centres of MDl Projects ltd. Raid was conducted in six districts of Bengal and one in Odisha, sources said.