Trinamool MP arrested after he took Mamata's name in scam: CPI-M

West Bengal's opposition CPI-M Saturday questioned the timing of Trinamool MP Kunal Ghosh's arrest in the Saradha scam, noting he was taken into custody soon after dragging Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's name into the controversy.

"The timing says a lot. He has been arrested a day after taking Banerjee's name. The demand for a CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) probe is now more than justified," Communist Party of India-Marxist central committee member Mohammad Salim told IANS.

Salim said there was Ghosh's reference in the letter purportedly written by (Sardha group chief) Sudipta Sen to the CBI before his arrest.

"But then the probe by the Special Investigation Team into the scam was nothing but a farce as it led nowhere. Kunal not only headed the media arm of Saradha Group, but he was also for quite some time the soul in the chief minister's secretariat. For long, neither Banerjee, nor the investigating officers sought to know the happenings from him. He was grilled only once," he said.

"But once he started saying things which were embarrassing for the Trinamool, the investigating officers started their hot pursuit for him. And soon after he took Mamata's name, he has been arrested," aid Salim.

Ghosh had in August lambasted the Trinamool leadership ashed out against the party leadership at an event Sep 20, alleging he was being made a scapegoat by those involved in the scam.

A day later, Ghosh was summoned to the Bidhannagar Commissionerate - probing the Saradha scam - which has quizzed him multiple times since then. Before the Sept 20 event, the MP was questioned only once.

On Friday, Ghosh had broken down at a media conference, and expressed the apprehension that he could be arrested Saturday.

Dropping a bombshell, the journalist-turned-politician said the media arm of the Saradha Group had been set up with the motto to promote Banerjee as the country's next prime minister.

"Till the CBI probe is ordered, the central investigating agencies like the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) must pursue the case vigorously," Salim said.

"The attempt of the probe seem to be not only to hush up the matter, but also to protect the ral culprits," he added.