Suspended Trinamool Congress MP Kunal Ghosh, who is being probed for his alleged complicity in the multicrore Saradha scam, was today arrested by Bidhannagar Police in Kolkata.
“We have arrested Kunal Ghosh. He has been charged with IPC sections 420, 406, 120B. Our investigations are on,” said Arnab Ghosh, deputy commissioner, detective department, Bidhannagar Police.
“We have got prima facie proof that Kunal Ghosh was a part of the conspiracy along with Sudipta Sen. We have got proof that his role far exceeded than what was warranted by his role (that of an editor),” the official added.
The Rajya Sabha member of Parliament (MP) wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the scam earlier in the day. He also filed a complaint against the Bidhannagar Police deputy commissioner, alleging he was being blackmailed by the officer to make a statement about his involvement in the scam.
“The commissioner will look into it (complaint against Arnab Ghosh). I am ready to face the consequences. But if the complaint is false, the complainant (Kunal Ghosh) has to face the consequences,” the deputy commissioner said after the FIR was filed against him.
The Rajya Sabha MP had on Friday claimed that the media arm of the Saradha Group had been set up with the sole aim of promoting West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee as the country’s next Prime Minister. He said that the CM had turned a blind eye to the Saradha wrongdoings despite having knowledge about it.
{{/usCountry}}The Rajya Sabha MP had on Friday claimed that the media arm of the Saradha Group had been set up with the sole aim of promoting West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee as the country’s next Prime Minister. He said that the CM had turned a blind eye to the Saradha wrongdoings despite having knowledge about it.
{{/usCountry}}The Trinamool Congress had earlier indefinitely suspended the MP after he embarrassed the party by publicly alleging that its top leadership was trying to make him a scapegoat in the Saradha scam.
The Rs 20,000-crore Saradha Group scam was exposed in April this year with the arrest of its owner Sudipta Sen and other top associates, who were running a Ponzi scheme through a consortium of their companies. Ghosh’s name figured among a couple of TMC ministers and MPs, who were allegedly linked with the scam. He was the chief executive officer of Saradha’s media unit.
The scam duped at least 1.7 million investors and led many of them as well as agents to commit suicide.