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Saradha chit fund scam: Walls closing in for ex-Kolkata top cop Rajeev Kumar

SC refuses to extend protection from arrest as time runs out

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Rajeev Kumar (left) was part of a dharna in Kolkata in February this year, as CM Mamata Banerjee (right) alleged a conspiracy.
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Time and luck seem to be running out for former Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar whose protection from arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Saradha chit fund scam will expire on May 24.

A day after Kumar had approached the apex court to request an extention to the May 24 deadline, since courts in West Bengal were on strike, he was informed by the Supreme Court Registry on Tuesday that the Chief Justice of India (CJI) had refused to constitute a three-judge bench to hear his plea.

This has added to Kumar's woes, since the Election Commission, which transferred him out of the state on Wednesday and posted him to Delhi, has also refused him permission to appear in person before a Kolkata court.

Kumar was removed as ADG, CID, Kolkata and transferred to the Ministry of Home Affairs in Delhi by the Election Commission on Wednesday and he is currently in Delhi. Due to a strike in the state, no lawyer is willing to appear for him. His lawyers now have to decide on their next move, and they don't have much time to do this, as the Kolkata High Court will close for summer vacations on May 23.

As the strike in Bengal's lower courts continues unabated, the Supreme Court's refusal to hear Kumar's petition for extension of time has left him with few options.

The Supreme Court had protected Kumar from arrest by the CBI on February 5 this year for the first time, allowing his interrogation once in Shillong in March. But the CBI questioned this special treatment being given to Kumar though there was no clear evidence to suggest how Kumar as head of the SIT investigating the Saradha scam suppressed or destroyed evidence that could harm several high profile persons of the ruling party in power in West Bengal.

Following this, the bench of CJI Ranjan Gogoi, and justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna on May 17 vacated its protection and allowed CBI to proceed in accordance with law. However, considering the fact that Kumar is a senior IPS officer, the court extended its protection for a week to enable him approach the competent court for anticipatory bail.

Earlier, Kumar in an affidavit, alleged that he was targeted by the CBI due to "mala fide intent" and "conflict of interest".

RUNNING OUT OF OPTIONS

  • Protection from arrest for Rajeev Kumar, which has been extended since February, will end on May 24
     
  • The courts in West Bengal are on strike, and so he approached the Supreme Court for relief
     
  • Election Commission has also refused him permission to appear in person before a Kolkata court
     
  • The Kolkata High Court closes for summer vacations on May 23, and so he has few options left
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