CBI gets custody of Saradha scam kingpin, 5 others

A court Monday sent six Saradha chit fund scam accused, including kingpin Sudipta Sen and suspended Trinamool Congress MP Kunal Ghosh, to seven days' CBI custody, counsel for the accused said.

Besides Saradha Group promoter Sen and Ghosh, the other accused include key aides and employees Debjani Mukherjee, Manoj Nagel, Somnath Dutta. They were sent to the custody of the CBI, which has taken over the probe of the multi-crore rupee scam.

"The CBI counsel had sought 10 days custody of all the accused, but after hearing the prosecution and the defence, the court remanded them in seven days' custody of the CBI," said Soumyajit Raha, counsel for the accused.

While Sen and Mukherjee were arrested from Kashmir in April 2013, Ghosh, who headed the media arm of the group, was nabbed in November last year by the state police. The other three were arrested subsequently.

Suspended by the Trinamool for "anti-party" activity, Ghosh has repeatedly alleged the involvement of several of party colleagues in the state's biggest financial scandal.

He recently wrote a letter to the Enforcement Directorate also probing the scam, expressing fear for his life and urged the agency to interrogate several powerful politicians involved in the scam.

"I will not seek bail from the court today, I am eager to go into the CBI custody and tell them whatever I know," Ghosh said while being taken to the court during the day.

Over 20 lakh people have been duped by the scam which came to light April last year.