Calcutta High Court refuses to extend Rajeev Kumar’s interim protection from custodial interrogation

The Calcutta High Court today refused to extend the interim protection for custodial interrogation for former Kolkata Police commissioner Rajeev Kumar any further.

In the judgment of the case in which Kumar had moved court seeking quashing of the notice against him, the court today said that Kumar’s protection could not be extended further. He has been asked to cooperate with the investigation in the Saradha chit fund scam being conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Kumar, who is now the additional director general of the state’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) may be asked by the CBI to appear for another round of interrogation. The notice asking him to appear may be served today itself.

Kumar has appeared for questioning in the Salt Lake office of the CBI in connection with the investigation. He was investigating the Saradha chit fund scam which was later taken over by the CBI. The central investigating agency has alleged that he had tampered with documents and proof in connection with the probe.

Kumar had also gone to the CBI office in Shillong – as directed by the Supreme Court – where he was questioned for five days, and the agency authorities had later informed the apex court that the former Kolkata CP “did not disclose any information crucial to investigation of the chit fund cases and gave evasive replies”, and that he had not cooperated with the investigation.