Rose Valley scam: CBI starts questioning TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay, CPI(M) leaders also under scanner

After his arrest on January 3 by the CBI, the Central investigating agency has started questioning the TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay regarding his alleged involvement in the multi-crore ponzi scam of Saradha Group as well as the Rose Valley Group scam.

Sources said that Bandyopadhyay, during a marathon questioning session on Sunday was asked about his alleged involvement with the Saradha Group and whether he had ever been to the Saradha Group headquarters at Midland Park in Salt Lake on the eastern fringes of Kolkata. When the MP said that he had never been there, he was reportedly shown the statement of Debjani Mukherjee, one of the main accused in the Saradha case and aide of Saradha boss Sudipta Sen. Mukherjee had said that she had seen Bandyopadhyay visit the Midland Park office of the Saradha Group. “We have evidence which shows that he had held meetings with Sen on several occasions, but so far Bandyopadhyay has maintained that he had never been to the Saradha office,” said a CBI official.

Sources also said that Bandyopadhyay was asked if he had ever attended any meeting of the Rose Valley Group where the agents and distributors of the group had gathered. After he denied participating in any such meeting, CBI sleuths showed him video clippings of two functions which had been organised in 2011 and 2012, one of which was at the Netaji Indoor Stadium where Bandyopadhyay was seen giving a promotional speech to a packed house saying that the Rose Valley Group had provided more employment opportunities than the state government.

When asked if the footage was fake, Bandyopadhyay conceded that he had been to the programmes but added that he had been there as a politician and invited to the event.

Sources also said that the names of four more influential people have come up from the documents seized from the Rose Valley office and CBI officials were busy gathering evidence against the four who were likely to be summoned next week.

Meanwhile TMC national secretary general Dr Partha Chatterjee along with party national general secretary Subrata Bakshi, senior TMC leaders Chandrima Bhattacharya and Manish Gupta had been to Bhubaneswar on Sunday to take stock of the place where the party would be putting up a protest demonstration. Led by Bakshi, party supporters would put up a demonstration at Lower PMG Square, about four km away from the CBI office in Bhubaneswar. They met Bandyopadhyay at the CBI office and while leaving the office, Dr Chatterjee said, “As a friend of Bandyopadhyay I had come to meet him. He is fine and brimming with confidence,” he said. He also added that the Central government had engineered the arrest of Tapas Paul and Bandyopadhyay ahead of the Budget session at the parliament for their political gain. “It is a political vendetta and TMC is well equipped to deal with it,” he said.

Bandyopadhyay would be produced at the court once again on Monday and CBI would once again appeal for taking him in their custody for further questioning.

Meanwhile, according to CBI sources, a section of CPI(M) leaders have also come under the CBI spotlight as the Rose Valley had started its operation during the Left Front regime and it was during that period that the chit fund company had expanded operation in Bengal. "Some top leaders of both TMC and CPI(M) are under our examination in the Rose Valley chit fund scam. As the investigation is progressing, fresh leads have emerged. We are looking into all aspects," a CBI official said.

(With Agency inputs)