देश

Supreme Court to hear CBI’s plea against Kolkata police chief Rajeev Kumar today

The Supreme Court will on Tuesday hear the plea moved by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) that it has ‘substantial material’ against Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar in connection with the Saradha chit fund scam and he should be directed to immediately surrender and make himself available before it for the investigation into the scam.

Narrating the sequence of events of Sunday evening in which its sleuths were rounded up by the West Bengal police, CBI said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee along with the DGP, additional commissioner of police sat on dharna at around 10 pm on Sunday in Kolkata and as such a conduct by the officials in uniform points to “complete anarchy prevailing in Kolkata and West Bengal”.
The investigating agency justified its action to reach the residence of Kumar saying it has substantial material to exercise its power of arrest without warrant and the Commissioner of Police is bound to comply with law of the land.

The application of the agency which came for perusal before a bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Sanjiv Khanna, said the CBI approached the apex court in view of ‘unprecedented events’ which took place on Sunday and are ongoing in Kolkata.

CBI said it was investigating the cases arising out if Saradha scam “under hostile environment and non-cooperation from the West Bengal government and its agencies/departments”.

The CBI further said that non-cooperation by Kumar was brought to the notice of the West Bengal DGP but in flagrant violation of the Rule of law, directives of the top court and the Constitution itself neither the DGP acted upon it nor the Kolkata police commissioner cooperated.

However, Banerjee said it was her government that arrested Saradha chairman Sudipta Sen and claimed Rs 250-300 crore was returned to the duped depositors.

Refusing to budge, Banerjee held her Cabinet meeting at the protest site and also gave police gallantry awards there. “This is a satyagraha and I’ll continue (it) till the country is saved… Constitution is saved,” the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief said.

The alleged ponzi scams at Saradha and Rose Valley groups are at the centre of what has become a major political controversy now, as the BJP leaders have alleged that the ruling party leaders in West Bengal have been among major beneficiaries of fraudulent collection of money.

Allegedly, these schemes were being run without necessary regulatory approvals and collected nearly Rs 20,000 crore from lakhs of investors in West Bengal and neighbouring states, through what is commonly known as ‘chit funds’.

Several TMC leaders including parliamentarians like Kunal Ghosh, Srinjay Bose, Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Tapas Pal, and state minister Madan Mitra were arrested for their alleged links with the two groups.