A fresh FIR against Trinamool Congress MP Kunal Ghosh was filed on Saturday by the journalists of Sakal Bela, a Bengali daily newspaper owned by the Saradha Group, which has also closed down. Ghosh has been accused of non-payment of salary and failure to deposit the provident funds of the staff.
This is the second FIR against Ghosh — the first was filed by employees of Channel 10. Ghosh was the CEO of the media division of the group whose other newspapers and channels are also facing a closure.
In the meantime, a 36-year-old money collection agent who had deposited his personal savings of about `4 lakh with Saradha Group committed suicide in Purulia and protests were reported from different places in the State. Swapan Kumar Biswas, 36, was found hanging in his house at Balrampur, 50 km from Purulia town.
While Ghosh was not available for comments, sources at the Bhawanipore Police station confirmed an FIR had indeed been filed against the MP. Ghosh has, in a six-page letter to party chief Mamata Banerjee which was uploaded on Trinamool Congress website on Friday, said, "I am not connected with the Saradha's money market activities. I am ready to resign as a Rajya Sabha member if investigation revealed (complicity in the scam)."
Agents and investors of other such chit-fund companies like MPS and Siya-Ram Agro Industries protested in Raiganj and Alipurduar demanding their money back.