Saradha scam: CBI questions TMC MP Satabdi Roy

Actor-turned Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Satabdi Roy was questioned on Monday by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for over an hour in connection with the Saradha ponzi scheme case.

48-year-old Roy, a Lok Sabha member from Birbhum in West Bengal, was quizzed at her residence here, sources in the central probe agency said. They said the agency examined the noted Bengali actor as per the time and the place of her choosing .Roy was a brand ambassador of the Saradha Group and it was suspected that she had taken money from the ponzi scheme company to promote it, they said. Repeated calls seeking her reaction remained unanswered.

She also did not respond to the SMS sent on her official mobile number. The agency had registered a case on June 4, 2014, in accordance with a Supreme Court order of May 9, 2014, against then chairman and managing director of Saradha Group, Sudipta Sen and others under penal provisions pertaining to criminal conspiracy, cheating and other offences. It was alleged that the accused persons had collected huge sums from investors under various schemes by fraudulently promising high returns, but failed to pay the amount to them.

Several people, including agents, had allegedly committed suicide after the company became defunct in 2013. The alleged scam was estimated at Rs 2,500 crore. Several TMC leaders were arrested, but were released on bail later.