CBI registers record no of 46 cases on a single day in Saradha scam

NEW DELHI: CBI today registered a record number of 46 cases in a day to probe the multi-crore rupee Saradha chit fund scam in which sitting Trinamool Congress' Rajya Sabha MP Kunal Ghosh has been named as an accused.

After registering 43 cases in Odhisa and three cases in West Bengal, CBI said it would also be probing the role of regulators like Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), RBI and Ministry of Corporate Affairs as per the orders of the Supreme Court.

CBI named Sudipta Sen, Saradha Group's chief, besides others, in the cases which have been registered under various sections of Indian Penal Code pertaining to cheating and criminal conspiracy.

The Supreme court had last month handed over the Saradha scam to CBI and asked the state governments to provide all logistical help to the agency's team probing the matter.

CBI has formed a Special Investigating Team (SIT), headed by Joint Director Rajeev Singh, to probe the role of market regulators like Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and RBI.

"Investigation conducted so far puts a question mark on the role of regulatory authorities like SEBI, Registrar of Companies and officials of RBI within whose respective jurisdictions and areas of operation the scam not only took birth but flourished unhindered," an apex court bench headed by Justice T S Thakur had said in its order.

CBI Special Director Anil Kumar Sinha has been asked to monitor the progress in the probe and exercise administrative control under the overall supervision of the CBI Director.

While Sen was arrested by West Bengal Police in Kashmir last year, Kunal Ghosh was apprehended on November 23 last year in connection with the scam. Ghosh was the media CEO of Saradha Group of Companies.