Left mass organisations demonstrate over Saradha scam probe

Accusing central agencies of going soft on the Saradha scam probe, mass organisations of Left parties on Thursday held a demonstration demanding punishment for the scamsters.

Under the banner of Bengal Platform of Mass Organisations (BPMO), Left leaders and activists held a demonstration at the CGO Complex which houses the offices of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) - the two central agencies probing the multi-crore rupee scandal.

"Be it the CBI or the ED, none are doing their job. The people of Bengal demand strict punishment for all those involved in the scam. The also want back their money that was looted," said former CPI-M Lok Sabha member Sujon Chakraborty, who led the march.

"If the central agencies do not wake up and there is no action, this movement will only intensify," added Chakraborty.

With the assembly polls in the state only months away, the Communist Party of India-Marxist led Left Front has been taking the attack to the ruling Trinamool Congress on a host of issues including the Saradha scam in which several of Trinamool leaders were arrested and interrogated.

The opposition has been accusing Trinamool supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of forging a tacit understanding with the Bharatiya Janata Party with the aim to thwart the probe by the central agencies.

The financial scandal that came to light in April 2013 ruined several thousand families, mostly from the rural areas of Bengal and the adjoining states.