New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India said that the status report of CBI on the interrogation of former Kolkata Commissioner Rajeev Kumar in connection with Saradha Chit Fund case as “very serious”.
The three-judge bench of the apex court said, “There are some things in it which are very serious”. The report was submitted to the court in a sealed cover. The SC, however, did not pass any orders stating that it needs to hear the other side.
CBI in the report points to inconsistencies in the interrogation details and what was submitted by the Kolkata police and accused the Kolkata police of tampering with the submitted materials.
The SC’s observation comes while hearing a contempt application by CBI against various senior officials of West Bengal administration, including Rajeev Kumar, for non cooperation in the investigation and destruction of evidence.
Rajeev Kumar was the head of Special Investigation Team constituted by the West Bengal Government to probe the Saradha Chit Fund scam before Supreme Court directed CBI to probe the case.
When CBI officers went to question Rajeev Kumar on February 9, the West Bengal police stopped the officials and a scuffle broke out.
West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, made a big hue and cry over the incident and staged a sit-in for three days. All the major opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, extended their support to Mamata Banerjee’s ‘Save the Constitution’ protest.
The Chief Minister’s move to protect an alleged corrupt official was widely seen as an attempt to stop CBI from acquiring sensitive information regarding Saradha Chit Fund scam that will harm her politically.
