Saradha probe: ED freezes two bank accounts of painter Shuvaprasanna

The Enforcement Directorate, probing the Saradha scam has frozen two bank accounts of painter Shuvaprasanna and is planning concrete steps to take action against him. "We had sent summons to him to appear before the ED last Monday. He did not come and sent a chartered accountant instead with documents," an ED source told PTI. The source said as per the legal provisions, Shuvaprasanna would have to come in person.

The ED had also frozen two bank accounts of the painter, the source said, adding that there had been instances of diversion of funds. The agency had earlier questioned the painter, considered close to the ruling Trinamool Congress, in connection with the sale of his shares in a TV channel to Saradha group chief Sudipto Sen. But he was asked to appear again as the ED officials had spotted some inconsistency in his statements made, which the painter was avoiding. As per the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, ED would first impose a penalty on the painter as a first step for not responding to the summons. The next step would be legal action including arrest, the source said.

The directorate today also interrogated chief of Rose valley Gautam Kundu whose firm was also under the scanner for collection of deposits from the public. The ED had also frozen nearly 2,500 bank accounts of Rose Valley.