Assam’s Health and Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday not only refuted the charges leveled against him by the arrested chief of Saradha Group but said that he would send a legal notice to him for leveling such false allegation against him.
Saradha Group chief Sudipta Sen, who was arrested recently, in a letter to the CBI had accused the Assam Minister of ‘cheating’ him and alleged that the Minister had taken Rs3 crores from the company and that the Minister’s office executive had taken money against some vouchers.
“I am sending a legal notice to Sen seeking to know the names of the persons who had taken money using my name. I have not authorised anyone to sign vouchers on my behalf. If somebody had done that and taken money, I must know who are those persons,” said Sarma
The Assam Government had already decided to hand over some of the cases of swindling of public money by these companies to CBI.
Appreciating the Government’s decision to hand over the cases to CBI, the Minister also said that CBI inquiry will bring the whole truth to the fore.
“I have gone to inaugurate a biscuit factory of the Saradha Group in Dhubri district last year. But that is not a crime. Many people goes and inaugurate factories and other such institutions. There is no question of cheating him as I have met Sen only once or twice,” said the Minister.
On Thursday, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had indicated the hands of some influential persons in the Government behind such scam and said that the Government will deal with the matter strictly. “I am going to take action against anyone if found involved in the scam,” said the Chief Minister.