With the West Bengal Police suspected to be suppressing some documents relating to the multi-crore Saradha scam, the CBI is likely to book some senior police officials of the State with charges for suppression and destruction of evidence under Section 204 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which attracts punishment of two years imprisonment or fine or both.
CBI Director Ranjit Sinha had written a letter in May to State Chief Secretary Sanjay Mitra and a reminder was sent last month to the Director General of Police seeking documents related to the scam. But the State police is yet to hand over some of the important documents relating to the scam.
“Following our reminder, the DGP of West Bengal has informed that it is yet to trace some of the documents. If they (State police officials) fail to furnish all the relevant files, the CBI will seek legal action against the responsible police officials,” a CBI source said. Sinha has asked his officers to get the important files which had so far not been given to them by Bengal police to take the probe forward.
“It has been over a month (since the reminder was sent) and they are yet to hand over the files. If we find that there is suppression of evidence then we will seek penal action against the concerned officials,” a senior CBI official said. After registration of the cases by CBI in connection with the scam, the West Bengal police had provided the case files and copies of the FIRs registered by the police. However, some of the incriminating documents might have been destroyed by the vested interests, apprehended the official.
Apprehensions are also being raised over the style of functioning of the Bengal Police that rushed to a bank in Salt lake at midnight in April to break open the locker of Piyali Sen, the arrested wife of alleged scam mastermind Sudipta Sen. The incident had raised eyebrows as the action was suspected to be motivated and the desperate move could have been intended to hide something, a source said.
The thrust of the CBI probe into the scam is to unravel the larger conspiracy involving influential persons including politicians, bureaucrats and regulatory officials. “Preliminary probe has revealed the involvement of politicians and influential people in the scandal and we are trying to establish the larger conspiracy. We need those incriminating documents before we begin questioning of the high ups. including some politicians,” the source added.
The special investigation unit (SCU) of the CBI is probing the scandal after a Supreme Court directive to the agency probe the estimated Rs 10,000-crore scandal across States, including Bengal, Odisha, Assam and Tripura. The CBI is also working in close co-ordination with the Enforcement Directorate to find out the money trail of the illegal funds generate through the chit fund business and establish the proceeds of crime.
ED, which is probing the money laundering violation by the Saradha Group, is planning to file the first chargesheet in the case soon. The ED has registered a case under the provisions of the Prevention of Money laundering Act (PMlA) and has found evidence of a suspicious money trail of about Rs 800 crore and the same is likely to find a mention in the first chargesheet, an agency official said.