Chit fund companies back in business in Bengal

West Bengal is still reeling from the effects of Saradha scam, but chit fund companies are reemerging in the state, state Consumer Affairs Minister Sadhan Pandey said Monday.

"We have received reports complaining that chit fund companies have started operating in various parts of the state especially in the rural areas," said Pandey adding nearly 125 complaints that the department received in the last few months, have been forwarded to the chief minister.

Chit fund companies and operators had gone into hiding after the multi-crore Saradha scam came to light in April last year.

The scam which ruined lakhs of depositors mostly from rural Bengal, resulted in a spate of suicides by agents and investors besides massive protests across the state.

Besides indemnifying the poor investors, the Mamata Banerjee government has also initiated a small savings scheme of its own to discourage people from investing in chit fund companies.