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Former Union minister Matang Sinh is new Saradha catch
Former Congress MP and minister of state Matang Sinh on Saturday was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after about eight hours of grilling in the multi-crore Saradha chit-fund case.
Former Congress MP and minister of state Matang Sinh on Saturday was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after about eight hours of grilling in the multi-crore Saradha chit-fund case.
According to a CBI statement, Sinh was arrested on charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating and misappropriation of funds.
Sinh, who was the minister of state, parliamentary affairs, in Narasimha Rao's regime, allegedly took Rs 28 crore for selling a television channel, that never went on air, to Sudipta Sen.
On Saturday morning, Sinh appeared before CBI officials at the CGO complex office in Salt Lake. He had earlier evaded the CBI summons six times.
Before entering the CBI office for interrogation, Sinh told media persons that he did not know Sudipta Sen and that someone from the media had introduced them.
A senior CBI officer told HT that sleuths were also probing Sinh's "nexus" with at least one senior officer in the home ministry.
"There are also allegations that he was in close touch with some senior civil servants and influenced senior-level appointments. We are looking at this aspect too," the officer said.
In July 2013, Sinh was chargesheeted by the CBI for allegedly not returning a Rs 67-crore loan to a public-sector bank.
Sinh told CBI sleuths that his dealings with Saradha were business-related and remarked that the duped investors should get back their money. He also pointed out that he had paid back Rs 50 lakh to the Shyamal Kumar Sen Commission, but refused to clarify further.
In his letter to the CBI in April last year, Sudipta Sen mentioned the names of Matan Sinh, his former wife Monornjana, builder Sanjay Jain from Assam and Nalini Chidambaram - wife of P Chidambaramm, among others.
On August 14 last year, the CBI carried out searches at 28 locations - including Sinh's residence in Assam - in connection with the Saradha chit fund scam.
The CBI officers wanted to know why Sinh tried to sell his news channel to Sudipta Sen and wanted to see the agreement between them.
CBI sleuths also asked whether Sinh forced Sudipta Sen to buy the channel through high government officials.
On Saturday evening, Sinh was admitted to the NRS hospital after he complained of stomach ailments.
