The CBI on Wednesday filed a supplementary chargesheet in the Saradha scam case accusing West Bengal Minister Madan Mitra, former Trinamool Congress MP Srinjoy Bose and suspended party MP Kunal Ghosh besides Saradha Group boss Sudipta Sen and his close aide Naresh Balodia for cheating and criminal conspiracy.
Besides Mitra, Bose, Ghosh, Sen and Balodia, the agency also charged three companies related to the scam. The chargesheeted companies include Strategy Media, Sangbad Pratidin Television Pvt ltd and Bengal Media, a CBI spokesperson said. While Bose was released under conditional bail by a higher court, the remaining four are undergoing judicial custody.
This supplementary charge sheet is the third one in connection with the series of cases related to Saradha Group. The first was submitted at the City Sessions Court on October 22 and the second at the Alipur Court on November 17 last year.
The charge sheet was filed for offences under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating) 409 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant Sections of Prize, Chits and Money Circulation (Banning) Act, 1978.
After wrapping up probe into a number if chit fund scam cases in West Bengal and Odisha, the agency is now likely to shift its probe into the role of officials of regulatory agencies like SEBI and RBI.
Sources said a detailed probe into the alleged role of regulatory bodies is being undertaken to unearth the possible nexus of such officials who might have overlooked the mushrooming of chit fund companies in violation of the existing laws.
Apart from probing the criminality of the officials of the regulatory bodies, the agency is also likely to seek administrative action against such officials. The agency has already questioned senior officials of SEBI and RBI in connection with their possible role in chit fund scams.