| Wednesday , November 26 , 2014 |
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1141126/jsp/frontpage/story_19089048.jsp#.VHUbn9KUeSo
Police chief on CBI’s Saradha radar | ||
| OUR BUREAU | ||
Nov. 25: The CBI today said it would probe the “role of the people” mentioned in a central report on the Saradha scandal, putting Calcutta police commissioner Surajit Kar Purkayastha in the potential line of questioning. Kar Purkayastha’s name is mentioned in a report drawn up by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), a multi-disciplinary organisation that deals with white-collar crimes and functions under the Union corporate affairs ministry. In chapter IV of the SFIO report, the police chief’s name figures along with that of Madan Mitra, the Bengal minister who has been summoned by the CBI but is in SSKM Hospital now. In a sub-section titled “persons liable for abetment and criminal conspiracy”, the report says: “During the course of his deposition on oath, Kunal Ghosh (the suspended Trinamul MP) has affirmed that very high-profile personalities drawn from politics and bureaucracy were associated with the Saradha Group publicly and shared stage with Sudipta Sen. This inspired confidence in the minds of public…. “During his deposition Ghosh has submitted (a) few pictures in which Kar Purkayastha, IPS, now commissioner of police, Calcutta, and Madan Mitra, sports minister, the government of West Bengal, are seen as attending programmes organised by Saradha Group companies.” In response to a question, CBI director Ranjit Sinha, serving out his last full week ahead of his retirement, scheduled for December 2, told The Telegraph this evening: “We will follow the recommendations of the SFIO report and probe the role of the people mentioned in the report.” The ministry of corporate affairs had constituted a special task force in the SFIO and assigned it the investigation of Saradha Realty India Ltd and 13 other cases. In its 443-page report, Kar Purkayastha has been mentioned as one of seven people who played an alleged role in the abetment of the offence by Saradha. The list includes the names of Rajat Majumdar, former IPS officer and Trinamul vice-president; Debabrata Sarkar, an official of East Bengal club; and minister Mitra. The CBI has already arrested Majumdar and Sarkar and is waiting for Mitra to be declared fit enough to face questions. “No one is above the law. If the other persons accused of abetment are either behind bars or have been summoned by the CBI, the commissioner of police should also be called so that the investigators can have a clear picture of his role,” said BJP state president Rahul Sinha. As part of the apex court order, the CBI is looking into the role of “influential people” in the “larger conspiracy” behind the Saradha scam. Ghosh’s deposition assumes significance as he is believed to have played a role in helping the Saradha boss build links with influential people. In a 91-page letter Ghosh had written on June 20, 2014, he had named Kar Purkayastha as one among those who had allegedly taken direct or indirect benefits from Saradha or used the platform of the company or praised/patronised the company. A former IPS officer today put the police role in perspective. “These companies couldn’t have gone about collecting money without the tacit support of the local police stations. The police chose to look the other way because the ruling party wanted it that way,” Nazrul Islam, a former IPS officer who was once close to the chief minister, told a media conference. Repeated calls to Kar Purkayastha’s cellphone went unanswered. Text messages seeking a reaction to the SFIO report did not elicit any response from the police commissioner. But a senior police officer said: “Some photographs of the police commissioner at a programme organised by the Saradha Group before it went bust are not sufficient to prove his abetment.” The SFIO report too was careful in that context, categorically mentioning that the evidence was not sufficient to frame any charges against him. “However, since CBI is looking into the larger conspiracy angle of the Saradha scam, it is recommended that the matter may be referred to the CBI for necessary investigation and further action at its end,” said the report. If the CBI does stick to Sinha’s statement of intent even after his retirement and calls the police chief, it will arm the Opposition with another weapon to attack the Mamata government. On the first page of the report, the “limitations” of the SFIO probe are mentioned. “Since investigations by West Bengal police had commenced before the central government ordered the investigation by SFIO, the police authorities were approached by the team of inspectors,” said the report. “However, the investigation team could not lay hands on the original books of accounts or other original documents of the Saradha Group as the same were in the custody of the police and repeated requests did not yield any result.” |
