Saradha probe picks up steam after CM Mamata Banerjee’s rally, ED summons TMC MP Satabdi Roy

By Madhuparna Das

KOLKATA: Central agencies investigating the Saradha chit fund scam has become active soon after chief minister Mamata Banerjee held a massive rally in Kolkata. Trinamool Congress MP Satabdi Roy has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate for her alleged involvement in the scam.

On July 21, Banerjee addressed a mega rally, where she said that CPM has been “taken care of in Bengal” and now she wanted to take her movement to Delhi. She had also said, “The ruling party at centre has been trying to threaten us through the central agencies, but we would not dither. We will never bow down to a communal force.”

The ED has asked Roy to appear before investigators on July 29. Investigations reveal that there has been a financial transaction of around Rs 1 crore between Roy and Saradha CMD Sudipta Sen. Sources said Roy was made the ‘brand ambassador’ of Saradha. Roy was not available for comments. In the last five months, no fresh summon was issued to any senior TMC leader. The opposition started calling it the ‘result’ of the Modi-Mamata bonhomie. In February, CBI had summoned former general secretary Mukul Roy. Since then, no senior leader has been summoned in the Saradha case.

Meanwhile, Trinamool MP and Bollywood veteran Mithun Chakraborty has surrendered Rs 1.2 crore to the Enforcement Directorate that he had accepted as remuneration for endorsing Saradha.