Saradha scam: Mukul Roy questioned by CBI, wants truth to come out

KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress general secretary Mukul Roy was today questioned by the CBI for close to five hours in connection with the multi-crore Saradha chit fund, after which he said truth must come out and that justice should not be denied to the poor who parked their money in the company.

Reiterating that he would cooperate with the probe agency, the TMC leader said, "I want the actual truth to come out. I told them (CBI) if they think it necessary, they can call me anytime, I can talk.

"Let the investigation proceed properly," he told reporters after nearly five hours of questioning at the CBI office at Salt lake here.

The former Railway Minister, who faced three rounds of questioning, said, "From day one, I had stated that if the investigating agency calls me for the sake of investigation, I will join and cooperate. I came here at 10.30 in the morning as scheduled."

CBI sources said the TMC leader would be called again, but the date of his appearance was yet to be decided.

Later, Roy told a small meeting at Salt Lake, "Those poor people who kept their entire wealth with this company (Saradha), justice should not be denied to them."

"I thank the people of Bengal for showering love on me for so long," he told the meeting where those present did not carry party flags.

The Rajya Sabha MP was first summoned by the CBI on January 12. Roy, who was in New Delhi at that time, had said he would meet CBI after returning to Kolkata.

However, after returning here on January 14, he sought 15 days extension to appear before the agency, saying he would be pre-occupied with by-elections in two seats in the state. He left for Delhi again on January 15.

Later, Roy emailed to CBI requesting it for his appearance "any time after 2 PM on January 28 or January 29 or 30" as he would be busy in various engagements in Delhi.

CBI on January 22 had asked him to appear before it on January 28.

But, Roy again sought time as the Supreme Court was supposed to hear on January 27 petitions filed by the West Bengal government and the Trinamool Congress regarding the ongoing CBI probe. However, the apex court deferred the hearing.

The special branch of CBI on January 27 had said that Roy had given an assurance that he would appear on January 30.