Kolkata Police raids former interim CBI director M Nageswara Rao's properties

The Kolkata police on Friday conducted raids on two properties allegedly belonging to M Nageswara Rao, former interim CBI director, in West Bengal. The police carried out searches at a place in Kolkata which reportedly has links with Nageswara Rao. The police officials also searched Rao's wife's company Angelina Mercantile Pvt Ltd at Salt Lake, according to news agency ANI. A team of around 30 police officers raided the two offices, allegedly linked to Rao's wife Mannem Sandhya, he said. "There have been a series of transactions between the company and Mannem Sandhya. We are looking into the matter," the police officer said. 

However, Rao, issued a press statement, refuting any link with Angela Mercantile Pvt Ltd which is being raided by the Kolkata Police. In a statement, Rao, who is currently the additional director of CBI, said: "I deny the linkage of this firm with my family members as reported by some media outlets today." 

"In light of certain reporting appearing in some media outlets, including some TV channels today linking my family members with a company on which Kolkata Police has carried out raids, I want to state that I had already clarified regarding this issue through a signed press statement on 30th October, 2018. "Further, complete details of all property of my family and mine have already been submitted in my annual property return submitted to the government which are available on Ministry of Home Affairs' website," the statement said. According to a Kolkata Police source, the owner of the company might be called for questioning on Saturday. 

Former interim CBI chief M Nageshwar Rao issues a press statement, refuting any link with M/s Angela Mercantile Pvt Ltd which is being raided by Kolkata Police today. pic.twitter.com/g9RfW3Yl4c

— ANI (@ANI) February 8, 2019

The raids were conducted a day before the CBI is scheduled to question Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar in Shillong in connection with Saradha scam, officials said, in the backdrop of Sunday's dramatic raid on Kumar's residence by the agency that triggered a slugfest between the Centre and the state government.

The agency has also called former Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Kunal Ghosh to Shillong on February 10. The CBI wants to question Kumar, a 1989-batch IPS officer, as he was heading the SIT formed by West Bengal government to probe Saradha and other ponzi scheme cases, they said. The CBI is relying on a 91-page letter from Ghosh, who was expelled by TMC, to the Enforcement Directorate, detailing the role of Kumar in handling the ponzi scam probe after the main accused Sudipta Sen and Debjani Mukherjee, both promoters of Saradha group of companies, had fled to Kashmir, officials said in Kolkata.