On Saturday, Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar will be questioned by the CBI in Shillong in connection with the multi-crore Saradha chit-fund scam. Earlier this week, the Supreme Court had directed Kumar to appear before the CBI and had asked him to "faithfully" cooperate into the investigation of the cases related to the Saradha chit-fund scam, but made it clear that he will not be arrested.
The interrogation is scheduled for a day after Kolkata Police raided two properties of a company which it said was linked to Nageswara Rao, the former interim director of CBI. The police action is likely to be perceived as a tit-for-tat response for the attempted search at the house of city police chief Rajeev Kumar this past Sunday, as that was ordered when Rao was still at the helm of the investigative agency.
The company named Angela Mercantiles Pvt Ltd which is allegedly being probed by the Kolkata police was raided in the past as well after a complaint was filed at the Bowbazar Police Station, said police sources. The raid was carried out at two offices of the company - one in central Kolkata and the other in Salt Lake City. Officially, Kolkata Police said the raid was conducted as the company was not registered as per law.
Saying that the firm was not related to his family members, Rao stated he had already clarified regarding this issue through a signed press statement on October 30, 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”, he added. Police sources allege that there have been a ‘series of transactions' between the company and Rao wife that are under scanner.’ They said there are primarily three transactions – Rs 25 lakh taken as loan by Rao wife from the company in 2011-12, Rs 1.5 crore paid to the company in 2012-13 and Rs 14 lakh paid as salary to Rao daughter, that are being looked at.
Police are probing as to why Rao wife needed the money, what exactly was the nature of the transaction, and what position did his daughter hold at the time of this financial transaction. The owner of the company, one Praween Agarwal, is also likely to be questioned by Kolkata police at the Lal Bazaar headquarters on Saturday.
This comes just days after the ugly face-off between the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government and the Narendra Modi government at the Centre was triggered by CBI officials being detained by police after they showed up at the residence of Kumar, alleging he had destroyed evidence related to the chit fund scams.