Saradha scam: Mukul Roy seeks 15 days to appear before CBI, gets only 7
Roy had earlier informed the agency that he will appear before the investigators on Thursday.
Mukul Roy at the Kolkata airport on Wednesday
Summoned by the CBI for questioning in connection with the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam, Trinamool Congress all India general secretary Mukul Roy on Wednesday sought 15 days extension of time to appear before the agency, but was granted only seven days.
“I had confirmed to CBI while I in Delhi that I would appear before it. But at the time the by-poll to two seats in West Bengal had not been announced. Since I am a key functionary of the party and would be pre-occupied with the byelections on February 13, I sought 15 days time from CBI,” Roy said in Kolkata.
When asked, Roy said he had communicated to the CBI official who had called him up. “I had phoned the CBI officer who had asked me to appear before the agency. I have also written to him and also sent a fax message. I will 100 per cent cooperate with CBI in its investigation,” he added. “I reiterate that I am not involved in any immoral act in my life,” he said.
Roy, a Rajya Sabha MP and former railway minister, had earlier informed the agency that he will appear before the investigators on Thursday. The The agency, sources said, has granted him seven days to appear before the investigators.
According to sources, the CBI sleuths are in possession some log books of Roy’s vehicles with details of his visits to Saradha chief Sudipta Sen’s office. Some accused in the case too had taken Roy’s name in their statements recorded by CBI. Significantly, Roy himself had admitted twice meeting Sen —- at Kalimpong and at Nizam Palace, Saradha chief’s office in Kolkata.
Earlier, upon arrival at Kolkata airport, Roy immediately headed for Nabanna, the new state secretariat in Howrah, where he held a 40-minute long one-to-one meeting with party chief Mamata Banerjee. He did not take questions from the media after the meeting, but the TMC, later in the day, made it clear that they stand by the senior leader and would not bow to BJP, which is using the CBI as “a political weapon”.
“The question (of removing Roy) does not arise. He will remain party’s general secretary and MP. Only because one has been called (by CBI), does he have to be removed?” asked Chatterjee while talking to reporters at Trinamool Bhavan.
“BJP is using it (CBI) as a tool for political vindictiveness. Information is being leaked as part of the conspiracy to harass and intimidate us… Ever since the CBI started probing the Saradha case, it is being used to serve the political interests of the BJP,” he alleged.
The party’s move to support Roy assumes importance as speculation is rife in political circles that the scam would ultimately split the TMC and a breakaway group might join the BJP. Holding that the party has faith in judiciary, the TMC announced that former CBI additional director and now a minister in Mamata cabinet, Upen Biswas will guide the party in dealing with the situation in wake of the CBI probe. “Biswas has been given responsibility by the party for all CBI-related affairs,” Chatterjee said.
Biswas was the head of the agency’s Anti-Corruption Bureau in the East Zone. During his tenure in CBI, he dealt with several cases, including the Bihar fodder scam.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate, which is probing into the money laundering aspect of the scam, today summoned a senior manager of Hotel Hyatt Regency. As per as sources, the ED sleuths have traced money transfers from Saradha account to the hotel.
The manager is said to have informed the investigators that rooms were booked for Kunal Ghosh (suspended TMC MP), Madan Mitra (transport minister currently in jail) and Sen on several occasions. However, the bills were paid by the Saradha Group of Companies.
In a related development, an Alipore court Wednesday allowed CBI to interrogate former IPS officer and senior TMC leader Rajat Majumdar in jail. The CBI would record his statement on January 15.
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