Kolkata: It is a big embarassment for the ruling Trinamool Congress party (TMC) as Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested its Rajya Sabha MP Srinjoy Bose for alleged involvement in the Saradha scam. He is the third TMC leader and second TMC MP to be arrested in the case.
It is the biggest arrest so far in the Saradha Ponzi scam and a setback for TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee. Srinjoy Bose has been arrested exactly a year after Kunal Ghosh was booked for his alleged involvement in the 2,500-crore scam which duped lakhs of hapless depositors across India.
Bose owns the Bengali Daily Samvad Pratidin and was also the editor of the TMC mouthpiece Jaago Bangla. He has been charged with criminal conspiracy, misappropriation of funds and deriving financial benefits from the discredited Saradha group.
In September 2010, Bose struck a deal with Saradha boss Sudipta Sen where on account of an editorial content sharing arrangement the latter paid Srinjoy's company 60 lakh rupees a month. The arrangement continued till April 2012. Evidently, Bose failed to satisfy the investigators about the transparency of the deal. In his purported letter to the CBI, Sudipta Sen himself alleged that Bose extorted money from the Saradha group.
Bharatiya Janata party's (BJP) Siddharth Nath Singh said, "His arrest means a lot. TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee has been in denial all this while. Now, Banerjee needs to answer."
The CBI had also summoned two state ministers for questioning but only one, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, showed up. While, Transport Minister Madan Mitra checked into a government hospital instead barely hours before his scheduled appearance before the CBI, presumably to evade the agency's grilling session.
Another TMC Rajya Sabha MP, Hasaan Ahmed Imran has been reportedly summoned by the agency. The ED, meanwhile, has frozen bank accounts of artist Subhaprasanna in connection with this case.
Srinjoy Bose's arrest undoubtedly takes the Saradha investigations to a whole new level. With Transport Minister Madan Mitra also summoned by the agency, the day may not be far when the clutches of the investigators reach the doorstep of the Trinamool top brass.
