Amid interrogating Jharkhand High Court advocate Rajeev Kumar in an alleged blackmailing and money laundering case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Amit Agarwal-a Kolkata based businessman who allegedly trapped Kumar.
The probe agency has summoned businessman Amit Agarwal to turn up at Ranchi based ED office by August end. The ED summoning Agarwal assumes importance as the opposition party BJP, on several occasions, has alleged that Agarwal is close to top JMM leadership.
Rajiv Kumar is currently under police custody of the ED and he is being questioned about his involvement. Kolkata police charged him for extorting money from Amit Agrawal for not implicating his name in a shell company related PIL.
Sources said that probe agency investigation is around Rajeev Kumar and Amit Agarwal as ED has questioned Rajiv how he knows Amit Agarwal, who introduced him to Amit Agarwal and others.
“Accused was caught with money; hence, links will have to be established about how they came to know each other. On whose invitation the accused came to Kolkata,” said a source in ED.
Notably, the arrest of Rajiv Kumar grabbed attention of the national media since in this case Kolkata police issued a notice to former Deputy Director of Ranchi zone of the ED Subodh Kumar also. The Kolkata police summoned him on the basis of some of his alleged WhatsApp conversations with Rajiv Kumar.
Advocate Rajiv Kumar was arrested on July 31st in Kolkata along with Rs 50 Lakh. Kolkata Police said that Rajiv Kumar was arrested along with the cash which he had extorted from Amit Agrawal in the name of safeguarding him in a PIL 4290/21 which is primarily against Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren. The allegation against Rajiv Kumar is that he along with petitioner Shiv Shankar Sharma files PILs in order to extort money from businessmen and companies.
Sources said that ED officials are finding it hard to crack Rajiv Kumar as he is not giving proper answers to ED questions. The ED will interrogate Rajiv Kumar till August 28. Rajiv Kumar has been put up at ED office, where the probe agency has arranged food and accommodation facilities.
Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate on Thursday secured an 8-day remand of advocate Rajiv Kumar, who is currently lodged at Alipur Jail in Bengal after being arrested by Kolkata police on July 31 along with Rs 50 lakh cash from his possession, on the charges of blackmailing a Kolkata-based businessman Amit Agrawal after filing a PIL against him in Jharkhand High Court. The special PMLA court of Prabhat Kumar Sharma of Ranchi civil court granted police custody of Rajiv Kumar to ED, effective from August 20.