The office of Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had sufficient information to act against the chit fund companies, sources in the CBI investigating into the multi-crore ponzi scam say claiming though Banerjee was repeatedly informed about the ongoing fraud no step was taken to control the same.
According to sources, the depositors of Saradha company had written a mass letter to the Chief Minister way back on 6th September 2011 a copy of which was forwarded to the Director General of Police, Kolkata Police Commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary. In the letter they had complained about how people were being cheated of crores of rupees.
They had also complained as to how the names of high and mighty in the Government were being used to win over the confidence of the people. A Bangla television channel’s name was also mentioned in the letter which claimed that the Channel was made to pass off as a Government mouthpiece even as it promoted the Saradha cause.
The letter brought allegations against a host of Saradha companies including Saradha Realty, Saradha Construction, Saradha Media, Saradha Biogas, Saradha Exports etc. The letter said how Saradha chief Sudipto Sen was collecting money from people without any registration from the SEBI or the RBI.
The letter directly challenges Chief Minister April 2013 claim that “I had no information of the ongoing fraud and came to know about it after the company defaulted on payments and Sen fled Kolkata leaving lakhs of protesting agents and depositors behind.”
Curiously she had also asked the people to “let bygone be bygone and take care that we do not fall into such traps in future” leading to a huge public outcry. Senior IPS officer Nazrul Islam had also alerted the Government through July 13th 2012 letter addressed to then Home Secretary.
Apart from this senior IAS officer and then UBI Chairman Bhashkar Sen in a bank programme said in presence of State Finance Minister Amit Mitra how the thousands of people were being defrauded by the mushrooming chit fund companies.
A letter written in 2010 to the Union Government by Trinamool MP Tapas Paul also said how a host of companies were looting the common men. Subsequently he told the media that Mamata Banerjee had been informed of everything. “She knows everything about this,” Paul said.
Interestingly jailed Trinamool leader Asif Khan also raised the issue at a later date questioning the source of Rs28 crores that were given to each Trinamool Candidate contesting in the 2009 General elections. He also informed how Rs 28 lakh and later Rs16 lakh were given each to the Trinamool candidates to fight the 2011 Assembly polls.