CBI arrests ex-DGP, summons RS MP Bose; ED grills another MP
In what is being viewed as a major step by the CBI towards catching the so-called political big fish, the agency probing the multi-crore Saradha chit fund fraud on Tuesday arrested Rajat Majumdar, a former Director-General of West Bengal Police on charges of conspiracy and hiding facts. In a related development, the Enforcement Directorate probing the money trail in the scam interrogated Rajya Sabha Trinamool Congress member Ahmed Hassan Imran for the second time. Also, another Trinamool MP and Pratidin editor Srinjoy Bose has been summoned by the CBI.
A 1971 batch IPS officer who was considered close to the top Trinamool Congress leadership, Majumdar was allegedly the mastermind not only behind Sudipto Sen’s ponzi fund empire, but also reportedly played a crucial role in the Saradha chief’s flight from Kolkata in April 2014 soon after his company defaulted in making payments to its 17 lakh depositors.
Majumdar’s house was earlier raided by the CBI. During his interrogation, he reportedly did not cooperate with his interrogators. He was finally arrested after getting the necessary nod from the Delhi office. The former controversial top cop was likely to be questioned face to face with Kunal Ghosh whose remand was also sought by the CBI on Tuesday.
Majumdar, who retired as the DGP Armed Police drew a monthly salary of Rs 10 lakh from the Saradha Group for acting as a consultant to the company. However, the CBI has laid hands on an in-house register of the Saradha Group in which he is mentioned as one of the key members of the management.
Sen’s name figures as the Group CMD whereas key members like Trinamool MPs Kunal Ghosh, Hassan Imran were reportedly attached to subsidiary concerns like Saradha Media etc. Majumdar’s arrest also becomes significant as he acted as the Trinamool’s observer for Birbhum district during the 2014 general elections and was a regular visitor to the Trinamool Bhavan.
CBI sources said they had enough evidence to show how Majumdar used his political and administrative connections for the financial benefit of Sen. They also quoted Sen as complaining how Majumdar extracted Rs 4 crore from Sen for organising a botched Bengali Sammelan programme at las Vegas but “finally did not place an account of it.”
Though the CBI would not say when they would summon the Trinamool leadership or whether they would be summoned at all, inside sources said: “Things would be clearer only after Majumdar is grilled extensively.” The former top cop is hiding more than what he is revealing, sources said. Meanwhile, sources said CBI bosses in Delhi were aware of the reported midnight meeting between Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Sen at Dello Bungalow in Kurseong, where the Saradha boss had reportedly assured Mamata of opening newspapers and channels to promote her name for the Prime Minister’s post.
Meanwhile, ED sources said they were trying to figure out whether TMC MP Imran had any underhand dealing with the Saradha Group besides the salary of Rs 70,000 per month which he used to receive from the tainted firm when he was the Executive Editor of Kalom, a Bengali newspaper. Sources said the ED had got some clues from him that were being verified by it. Hassan owned the newspaper before selling off his shares to the Saradha Group at a consideration of around Rs two lakh. The other shareholders also sold their shares to Saradha.
Concurrently, the special Crime Branch of the CBI again interrogated Asif Khan, Editor of another Bengali daily Aajker Kalom who is considered close to the Trinamool Congress leadership, in connection with the Saradha scam. In Delhi, completing its probe into the Saradha scam, the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has submitted its final investigation report to the Government, which may soon start prosecution proceedings for numerous serious violations found during investigations.
Sources said that the final report, submitted by the SFIO to the Corporate Affairs Ministry, has listed violations of many provisions of the Companies law by various entities. The Ministry is looking into the report and prosecution proceedings are expected to start soon under Companies Act, they added. According to sources, the findings of the SFIO probe are also being shared with the CBI, which has also been probing the case, while matters pertaining to collective investment schemes are being referred to the capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for further action.
Sebi had passed an order against Saradha Realty in April last year, soon after massive protests by public investors began in West Bengal. The company was asked by Sebi to refund the investors’ money, among other strictures. In the wake of public protests, the Ministry also asked SFIO in April 2013 to probe the case. The agency, which looks into white collar crimes and violations of Companies law, investigated more than 60 companies in this regard.