Saradha scam: Suicides continue, toll nine

As the multi-crore-rupee Saradha chit fund scam rages on, the related loss of life continued in West Bengal with three more people linked to ponzi firms committing suicide, taking the death count to nine.

The body of Jagdish Roy, whose son Bidhan used to operate a chit fund firm and owed over Rs.1 crore to investors, was found hanging at his house in North 24 Parganas district's Sodepur Sunday night.

His family alleged that angry investors had ransacked his house a few days ago and assaulted him.

"He was deeply shocked by the assault and could not bear the humiliation," Roy's daughter Dola said.

In Hooghly district's Chinsurah, Jayanta Sarkar, who used to run a small deposit- seeking firm, hanged himself Sunday night. Police said that over the last few days, Sarkar was hounded by angry investors demanding their money back.

In another case of distressed agents and collective scheme operators committing suicide, 30-year-old Sanjay Sarkar, an agent with a chit fund company, ended his life.

Police have found suicide notes from both Jayanta and Sanjay Sarkar.

Shyamsundar Mukherjee, a retired school teacher who worked as an agent of the tainted Saradha Group, died following cerebral attack in Birbhum district's Nalhati. His family blamed stress and humiliation caused due to the collapse of the company.

His family said the 64-year-old was under stress and felt humiliated to have joined a company whose promoter Sudipta Sen was arrested and is being prosecuted for cheating.