Rajeev Kumar’s pre-arrest bail plea rejected

KUMAR, CURRENTLY SERVING AS THE ADG OF WEST BENGAL POLICE’S CID, MOVED THE COURT SEEKING ANTICIPATORY BAIL ON FRIDAY, DAYS AFTER THE KOLKATA HC REMOVED HIS INTERIM RELIEF FROM ARREST

KOLKATA: A court in Kolkata on Saturday rejected the anticipatory bail plea of former city police commissioner Rajeev Kumar, who has failed to turn up for questioning by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with its probe in the Saradha chit fund case. Kumar, currently serving as the additional director general of West Bengal Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID), moved the court seeking anticipatory bail on Friday, days after the Kolkata high court removed the 53-year-old’s interim protection from arrest.

Earlier in the day, CBI’s counsel Kalicharan Mishra argued that Kumar should not be granted bail “considering the social ramification of the case and in the interest of fair and transparent investigation”.

Defending Kumar, his counsel Gopal Haldar said in the court that the former Kolkata police commissioner’s name did not feature in the original charge sheet as well as the six supplementary charge sheets submitted by the agency in the case.

“Nowhere has the CBI said that Kumar was connected with the original case,” said Haldar.

CBI officers have alleged that Kumar is not cooperating in its probe and has remained untraceable since his interim protection from arrest was removed.