The Supreme Court on Friday lifted its earlier order preventing arrest of former Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar in the Saradha chit fund scam investigation probe.
The court lifted its earlier order that said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) could not arrest Kumar. The CBI has been asked to go ahead with its investigation, but Kumar has been given a seven-day window during which time the protection from custodial interrogation will be valid.
Significantly too, the apex court has added that this order may not be treated as a direction to the CBI to carry out custodial interrogation, reports Bar & Bench.
Ahead of the final phase of election in Bengal, this is being seen as an important decision by the court that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) feels could put the Trinamool Congress government in a difficult position. The Election Commission on Wednesday had transferred Kumar out of Bengal and posted him with the Ministry of Home Affairs. No reason was cited by the EC for taking the step. The decision was criticised by the state chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who said that the EC and BJP were “brothers” and decisions were being taken by the EC at the instructions of the BJP. Banerjee also said that the BJP was afraid of Kumar because he was unearthing hawala money. Kumar joined on his new assignment in Delhi yesterday.
He was investigating the Saradha chit fund scam which was later taken over by the CBI. The central investigating agency has alleged that Kumar had tampered with documents and proof in connection with the probe.
The senior IPS officer however, has told the court that he was targeted by the CBI due to “mala fide intent” and “conflict of interest” of the investigating agency’s former interim chief M Nageswara Rao. He has said that Rao’s family members were under the scanner following demonetisation and an investigation had been initiated by the Kolkata Police into the operation of some shell companies that had reportedly received huge cash deposits. During the probe, the role of Angela Mercantiles Pvt Ltd had come to light and when it was being investigated, the names of Rao’s wife and daughter had come up. The Kolkata Police authorities had raided the office of the company.
Officers of the CBI had landed at Kumar’s doorstep on the evening of February 3 to “interrogate” him.
Kumar has also alleged that he has been targeted by the CBI as part of the larger conspiracy between two BJP leaders, and had named Mukul Roy and Kailash Vijyawargiya. He told the apex court that there is an audio clip where they clearly speak of “targeting” some “senior police officers”.
The CBI on the other hand has alleged that Kumar “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. The agency also alleged earlier that “the demeanour, tone and tenor and the body language” of Kumar had “led to serious apprehension in the minds of the investigators” that he “tried all along to shield some body”.
The court had last month reserved its order after hearing both sides and the order was pronounced today.
