Saradha heat closes in on Mamata Cabinet, first minister arrested
Sarada Scam Arrests
West Bengal Transport Minister and senior Trinamool Congress leader Madan Mitra was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday in connection with the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam.
The CBI said Mitra was arrested on prima facie evidence of criminal conspiracy, cheating, misappropriation and deriving undue financial benefits from the Saradha Group after five hours of questioning by the investigating agency in connection with the ponzi scam at the Salt Lake CGO complex in Kolkata.
Among the questions the CBI had for Mitra on Friday were the post he allegedly held in the Saradha group and why he was photographed frequently with Saradha boss Sudipta Sen. The CBI reportedly grilled Mitra on the photos provided by several of the accused, including suspended Trinamool MP Kunal Ghosh, of Mitra and Sudipta attending meetings together.
In his defence, Mitra has repeatedly claimed that he knew Sen only as a developer and that did not receive any money from him or Saradha Group.
The CBI also arrested Naresh Balodia, the legal advisor of Saradha chief and scam kingpin Sudipta Sen. “CBI also arrested Naresh Balodia on charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating and diversion of funds in the same case,” CBI official Kanchan Prasad said.
Last month, the special crime branch of the CBI probing the Saradha scam had summoned Mitra to appear before the agency for questioning. Mitra had taken ill shortly after the summon and was admitted first to a private clinic and later to the state-run SSKM Hospital from where he was released on November 26.
Mitra’s arrest came weeks after the investigating agency Trinamool Congress’s Rajya Sabha MP Srinjoy Bose in the scam. Bose was accused of blackmailing Saradha Group chief Sudipta Sen into paying him Rs 60 lakh a month, an allegation he denied.
The Trinamool Congress termed the arrest of Madan Mitra as “politically motivated”, and hit out at the BJP for resorting to politics of “vindictiveness”. “This is an illegal and unconstitutional arrest,” party chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in Kolkata.
“Who is CBI? What is their jurisdiction? There are so many other cases about which they’re sitting quietly. Why hasn’t any Left leader been arrested for any scam,” she said.
“Even before (BJP president) Amit Shah came to Kolkata, it was decided that the CBI would arrest Madan Mitra. This arrest is politically motivated. The BJP is doing politics of vindictiveness,” said Trinamool leader Subrata Mukherjee.
Mukherjee said Trinamool was mulling introduction of a privilege motion to counter the politics of the Bharatiya Janata Party. “We are exploring all options. We may bring a privilege motion. How can the government and assembly speaker be kept in the dark before arresting a cabinet minister?” Mukherjee questioned.
Education Minister Partha Chatterjee later announced a rally on Saturday with sportspersons to protest the arrest. Mitra, who was also the Sports Minister, is the fourth Trinamool Congress leader after Rajya Sabha MPs Kunal Ghosh and Srinjoy Bose and party functionary Rajat Majumdar to be arrested in the scam.
Source: India Today
