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Chit fund probes finally near conclusion, CBI set to arrest TMC leaders

NewsChit fund probes finally near conclusion, CBI set to arrest TMC leaders

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI’s) investigation into the Narada, Saradha and Rose Valley scams, allegedly involving West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress, has reached its final stages. Highly placed government sources told this newspaper that the investigation would have been completed last year itself but for the “turmoil” in the CBI, because of which the entire top leadership of the agency had to be replaced.

The sources added that CBI has collected “enough evidence” to secure the arrest and custody of top TMC leaders who will be called in for questioning “very soon”.

Agency sources denied that there was a slowdown in the investigation of these cases, in the wake of the leadership crisis, which peaked in October 2018 with the removal of CBI director Alok Verma and his deputy, Rakesh Asthana. But the country’s political leadership is convinced that the CBI did not take the cases as seriously as it should have. This belief stems from the fact that despite registering the FIR in the cases more than two years ago (April 2017), the agency did not achieve anything substantial.

Asthana, before he was removed, was handling the cases and had set a deadline of July 2018 for the investigation to be completed by his subordinates. However, the investigation lost steam once Asthana’s powers were curbed.

Later, on 30 March this year, the CBI told the Calcutta High Court that it was going to file the charge-sheet in the case by the end of April. Following which, the court gave the agency three months to file the charge-sheet. The court also barred the agency from taking any coercive action against one of the accused leaders of the TMC, Aparupa Poddar, for four months, starting 30 March. In this period, Aparupa Poddar contested the Lok Sabha elections from Arambagh constituency and won the seat.

As for the probe into the Saradha and Rose Valley chit fund scams, the CBI has started moving with “renewed vigour” post the conclusion of the general elections, and has summoned for questioning senior police officers Arnab Ghosh and Dilip Hazra, apart from Rajeev Kumar, whose Supreme Court mandated protection from arrest has ended. All will be questioned for their alleged involvement in trying to bury the case and save the accused.

Sources said that Rajeev Kumar had indicated that he wanted to turn approver. If that happens, then it is likely to blow the lid off all the scams. Kumar, the “blue-eyed boy of Mamata Banerjee”, led the investigation into these scams when the cases were being investigated by the state police. He is believed to be the repository of proof-backed information on the people who were a part of the scams, including top TMC leaders. His statements will have a lot of evidentiary value. However, sources in TMC termed the possibility of Rajeev Kumar turning an approver as a “rumour”.

According to a top Central government source, “In the coming few months, CBI will question TMC leaders and make some high profile arrests. The names of those who are going to be called for interrogation are already in the public domain. Partha Chatterjee (TMC general secretary) and Abhishek Banerjee are of immense interest.”

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