Saradha chit fund scam: On 'leave', Rajeev Kumar skips CBI summons, sends letter seeking more time

Former Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar, who is under scanner for his alleged role in the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam, skipped a meeting with the CBI officials on Monday despite being summoned by the top investigating agency for questioning, officials said.

Instead, Kumar – who was asked to be present at CBI's office in Kolkata on Monday - however, sent a letter to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), seeking some more time to appear before its officers in connection with the case.

The letter was submitted at CBI office in Salt Lake by a CID officer. The letter stated that he is on a three-day off and, therefore, unable to attend the summon.

CBI sources said officials were at the Barasat court to prevent Kumar from taking any legal step to stop the agency from interrogating him.

Earlier on Sunday, the state government reinstated Kumar as Additional Director General, CID

On Saturday, the CBI had also issued a lookout notice against Kumar to prevent him from leaving the country. The agency wants custodial interrogation of Kumar in connection with the chit fund scam as he was heading the police's special investigation team to probe the case before the CBI took over.

The ponzi scheme scam was over Rs 2,500 crore by the Saradha group of companies, which had duped lakhs of customers promising higher rates of returns on their investment, the CBI had said.