ED orders probe as CCTV footage of IO with wife of ponzi accused surfaces

CCTV grabs purportedly showing ED’s Kolkata-based nodal Investigating Officer (IO) allegedly checking-in a hotel with the estranged wife of the main accused in a chit fund scam has prompted the agency to order a probe into his role and remove the officer from all cases.

The video and photo grabs of the IO and the woman were last night shown on some West Bengal news channels which claimed that the footage allegedly revealed that the duo travelled together by air from Kolkata to Delhi last month and later together checked into a hotel in the Sunder Nagar area of the national capital.

Taking cognisance of the reports, the Enforcement Directorate said it has ordered for a probe into the incident and “strict disciplinary action” will follow if charges are proved true.

It said the IO was based at the ED’s regional office in Kolkata and was investigating prominent cases like the Saradha and the Rose Valley chit fund scams.

The CCTV footage of the duo allegedly being together was obtained by the Kolkata Police as part of its separate investigation against the activities of certain hawala dealers post demonetisation.

“This is a serious case and we are investigating it thoroughly. There were some inputs about the official concerned and he was under watch. A probe report will decide the future course of action,” agency sources said.

However, they added it does not look like that the high-profile probes could have been influenced by the IO as such cases are supervised at multiple levels.

They added that the officer could be suspended and sent back to his parent cadre in the Customs and Central Excise department once the report comes out and as an immediate measure he has been removed from all the cases and a different IO has been appointed.