The Enforcement Directorate on Monday grilled pro-Mamata Banerjee painter Suvaprasanna for more than five hours without much success, sources said, adding the artist evaded most of the questions which were related to the sale of a television company, owned by his company, to the jailed chit fund kingpin Sudipto Sen. The transaction between the painter, whose company owned a television channel, and Sen, who purchased the channel for a “fancy price”, evoked suspicion among the ED officials probing the multi-crore ponzy fund case.
“He has not been able to give satisfactory answer about Rs3 crore which still remains unaccounted in the deal ED,” sources said adding the painter, who had earlier been questioned twice before Monday’s session, could be grilled once again in near future. Incidentally, a top Trinamool Congress politician who had considerable clout in the UPA-II had reportedly played a big role in getting the then Information and Broadcasting Ministry to allot a slot for the painter’s channel which hardly went on air. This channel was subsequently sold to Sen for a premium price.
Suvaprasanna continued to give evasive answers to most of the questions from the ED officials. The painter had played a frontline role in Banerjee’s Singur and Nanidgram movements by mobilizing the intelligentsia class of Bengal. The painter was reportedly questioned about the sale of Devakripa Vyapar the holding company of his television channel Ekhon Samay. When asked to give reactions about the Monday’s session the visibly tensed painter refused to talk to the media persons.
The ED had also issued summons to actor-turned-Trinamool MP Mithun Chakrabarty, dramatist-cum-Trinamool MP Arpita Ghosh and industrialist Harsh Neotia. When asked about the summons received by her Ghosh said she would act accordingly as and when she received the summons adding she had nothing to do with chit fund scam.