An all-out war broke out between the Centre and the Mamata Banerjee government on Sunday, with the feisty West Bengal leader beginning a sit-in protest at a city landmark over the CBI's attempt to question the Kolkata Police chief in connection with chit fund scams, insisting it stifled the spirit of "Constitution and federalism". Taking the cognizance of the matter, the Attorney General or the Solicitor General will make an urgent mention before the CJI tomorrow morning for urgent consideration of the matter.
According to the reports, the Centre will accuse the Mamata government of impeding investigation of a Supreme Court ordered probe (in 2014 SC asked CBI to probe Saradha, other Ponzi scams). The CBI Interim Director M Nageshwar Rao has also said that tomorrow the CBI will approach the Supreme Court on the matter as the West Bengal police is not cooperating.
In a turn of events, the Kolkata Police has today detained the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team which had reached the house of Commissioner Rajeev Kumar to question him in connection with Rose Valley and Saradha ponzi scams. The team was earlier denied entry by the cops into the house of Kolkata Police chief. The West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has also reached Kumar's house. According to our sources, the CBI team is in Shakespeare police station under whose aegis commissioner's house comes. The CBI is trying to locate Kolkata police chief Rajeev Kumar to question him in connection with Rose Valley and Saradha ponzi scams and it might arrest him as the last resort, officials said. The IPS officer, who led a Special Investigation Team of West Bengal Police probing the scams, has to be questioned regarding missing documents and files but he is not responding to notices to appear before the agency, they said.
Trinamool Congress senior leader Derek O Brien took to Twitter and termed the raid as constitution coup. “BJP planning a constitutional coup? 40 CBI officials surround Kolkata Police Commissioner’s home. Destruction of institutions goes on unabated. Our demand in #Parliament on Mon. Modi has to go. We are reaching out and sharing this with all Oppn parties who want to #SaveDemocracy," he wrote.
Kumar, a 1989 batch IPS officer of West Bengal cadre, did not even attend a meeting with Election Commission officials who had gone to Kolkata to meet him regarding election preparedness, sources said. When contacted, his staff claimed Kumar had come to office Friday but had left. "There is very little chance that he will come to office now. You can try on Monday or call his residence," his office staff told PTI over phone. The number of his residence given by his staff did not ring and the calls made to his mobile number remained unanswered. The officials said Kumar apparently became apprehensive of his arrest after Bengali film producer Shrikant Mohita was taken into custody.
According to some eyewitness accounts, Kumar was spotted in a book fair some days back. The Rose Valley scam is worth over Rs 15,000 crore and Saradha scam is about Rs 2500 crore. In both cases, the perpetrators allegedly have links with the members of the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, they said.
In both cases, like all other ponzi scam cases under the CBI probe, the investors were lured with attractive interest rates, they said. They were allegedly duped by ponzi scam companies which refused to return money after maturity of deposits and finally closed their shops. The Supreme Court had handed over probe to the CBI in 2014. Kumar was appointed as the Kolkata Police commissioner in 2016.Â
Earlier, the Kolkata police issued a notice where they said, "We have noticed a news item doing the rounds of various audiovisual, print, and digital media since Saturday, 02.02.19, to the effect that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is 'looking for' Shri Rajeev Kumar, Commissioner of Police, Kolkata, in connection with the Saradha chit fund cases. The news item also mentions that Shri Rajeev Kumar has not been attending office for three days. Kolkata Police condemns and denies such baseless news. Please take note that not only is the CP Kolkata available in the city, but has also been attending office on a regular basis, with the exception of 31.1.19, when he was on leave for a day. All concerned may please take note that if any news is spread without proper verification, Kolkata Police will initiate strict legal action against defamation of both the CP Kolkata and Kolkata Police."
HIGHLIGHTS
- Police detain the CBI team which reached the residence of Rajeev Kumar.
- Mamata Banerjee reached Police Commissioner’s house.
- CBI team was forced to sit in the police van: Sources
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