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Srinjoy Bose, Trinamool Congress MP and Editor of Bengali daily Sangbad Pratidin , was arrested on Friday by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the Saradha scam. According to sources, he was arrested after a six-hour interrogation.
A Rajya Sabha member, Bose runs a multi-billion-dollar cargo handling and port infrastructure business in India and Dubai through outfits such as Ripley & Co and EC Bose & Company. He is also the editor of the Trinamool’s mouthpiece, Jago Bangla .
His father Swapan Sadhan Bose was also a Rajya Sabha MP (2005-2011).
A major patron of the city-based Mohun Bagan football club, the family was once close to the CPI(M)-led Left Front before shifting allegiance to Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress.
Confirming the arrest, a CBI spokesperson said Bose had “prima facie” involvement in the case relating to Saradha Realty. He is accused of “criminal conspiracy”, “misappropriation of funds” and “deriving undue financial benefits”.
Saradha Group Chairman Sudipta Sen had, in his tell-all letter to the CBI before his arrest in April 2013, accused Bose of “extorting money” from him.
Suspended Trinamool Congress MP Kunal Ghosh had also alleged Bose’s involvement in the scam. Ghosh was executive editor of Pratidin before taking charge of Saradha’s vast media empire. He was arrested by the State police in November 2013 for involvement in the ponzi scam.
Still in judicial custody, Ghosh was also booked by the CBI in a chargesheet presented in October.
The Saradha Group operated various ponzi schemes offering massive returns. It went bust in April last year, leaving lakhs of small investors and depositors bankrupt in West Bengal and neighbouring States.
Though the Mamata government resisted a CBI probe, the Supreme Court ordered an investigation by the central agency in May this year.
The CBI has so far arrested six persons (including Bose) for alleged involvement in Saradha scam.
The others arrested in this connection include businessmen father and son Sajjan and Sandhir Agarwal, East Bengal Club official Debabrata Sarkar, former DIG of of police and senior Trinamool leader official Rajat Kumar Majumdar, and Asamese singer-filmmaker Sadananda Gogoi.
Ministers summoned
The CBI has also summoned West Bengal Transport Minister Madan Mitra for questioning.
Mitra, however, avoided appearing before the probe agency citing health reasons. He is now admitted in the state-run SSKM Hospital.
The agency today also questioned State Textile Minister Shyama Prasad Mukherjee and former Trinamool Congress MP Somen Mitra in connection with the scam.
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