Kolkata top cop, ex-MP grilled
THE KOLKATA Police chief was quizzed for nearly nine hours on Saturday by three senior CBI officers about his alleged role in tampering of crucial evidence in the case, they said.
Shillong, Feb. 10: The CBI questioned Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar and former TMC MP Kunal Ghosh by making them sit face to face at the probe agency's office here in connection with the Saradha chit fund and Rose Valley scams, officials said Sunday.
The marathon interrogation of Kumar on the second day, that began at 10.30 am has got over. The questioning by the CBI was being done as per the directions of the Supreme Court.
A two-member CBI team, who are the Investigating Officers in the Saradha and Rose Valley scams, arrived here in the afternoon.
Kumar and Ghosh were grilled in the initial period by a 10-member team of the CBI, the officials said. The Kolkata Police chief was quizzed for nearly nine hours on Saturday by three senior CBI officers about his alleged role in tampering of crucial evidence in the case, they said.
Kumar had led the special investigation team (SIT) formed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to probe the Saradha scam before the case was handed over to the CBI by the apex court.
Officials in Delhi said the CBI has not acceded to the demand of Kumar to have his questioning session videographed.
It is done in cases of custodial interrogations, they said.
There were reports quoting lawyer of Kumar that his questioning sessions are being video recorded by the CBI on his request.
Ghosh, who arrived here shortly after 10 am, sought blessings of goddess Saraswati at a pandal, barely 100 metres from the CBI office, before entering the highly secured office of the investigating agency at Oakland.
“Both were questioned and made to sit face to face in the later half of the day. Each of them were questioned separately in the initial period,” an official privy to the investigation told PTI, requesting anonymity.
The former Trinamool Congress MP was arrested in 2013 in the Saradha ponzi scam and has been out on bail since 2016.
Ghosh, before entering the CBI premises, told media persons, ”I have no comments (to make). I have been asked to attend a hearing at this office. All along I have been cooperating with the investigating agency. So, I came to attend it.”