Rajeev Kumar in Varanasi on six-day leave: CID reply to CBI summons for Saradha probe

CID DSP Madhusudan Ghosh and Inspector Abhijit Mukhopadhyay met the CBI officials at around 11.30 am at the CGO complex in Kolkata to respond to the latter's notice, summoning the former top cop today at 10 am.

Former Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar is on official leave to Varanasi for six days and will not be able to appear for questioning in connection with the Saradha ponzi scheme, a letter by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) read on Monday.

CID DSP Madhusudan Ghosh and Inspector Abhijit Mukhopadhyay met the CBI officials at around 11.30 am at the CGO complex in Kolkata to respond to the latter’s notice, summoning the former top cop today at 10 am. “He is in Varasani on six days leave and CBI officials have been intimated about it,” a source in CID told The Indian Express on the condition of anonymity.

Following this, CBI officials in Kolkata informed their counterparts at the headquarters in New Delhi.

The 1989-batch IPS officer is accused of tampering evidence related to the Saradha scam. On Sunday, a lookout notice was issued against the former police chief and all the airports and immigration authorities were directed to prevent him from leaving the country and intimate the agency about any such move. At the same time, Kumar was reinstated as ADG CID by the West Bengal government after the Model Code of Conduct was withdrawn.

Kumar is likely to move the Barasat court for anticipatory bail plea later today. The CBI is trying to get in touch with the former top cop on his official number ever since the court had cancelled his plea last week.

The investigative agency is seeking custodial interrogation of Kumar as he was heading the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the West Bengal police that probed the case before the CBI took over. The Supreme Court had in April asked the CBI to furnish evidence for seeking Kumar’s custodial interrogation.

The apex court on May 17 withdrew the protection given to Kumar from arrest and asked the CBI to proceed as per law. Kumar again approached the Supreme Court on May 20, seeking extension of protection and claiming that courts in West Bengal were not functioning due to lawyers’ strike. This petition was rejected, following which Kumar approached a Kolkata court with an anticipatory bail plea.

Who is the election result winner in your Lok Sabha constituency? Click here to find out. Get real-time updates, news and analysis on the 2019 Lok Sabha election results only at indianexpress.com/elections | For a deep dive on the elections check out data.indianexpress.com

Source: Read Full Article