Mamata solves mystery of missing Mithun - CM says threat through political tools like central probe agencies is keeping actor away

Mamata Banerjee and Mithun Chakraborty at Chilapata, Alipurduar, on April 12, 2014

TT, Calcutta, Nov. 26: Mamata Banerjee today spilled one of the worst-kept secrets in Bengal and assigned a reason: Mithun Chakraborty was keeping away from her because of a fear of political witch-hunt in the Saradha scandal.

" Byaparta emon jaygay gyachhey je amar nijeyr MP, Mithun Chakraborty , amar shathey kotha boltey bhoy paay. Emon bhoy dekhiye rekheychhey ora (Things have come to such a pass that my own MP, Mithun Chakraborty, is scared of speaking to me. Such is the fear they have driven into people)," Mamata said.

The chief minister was addressing an anti-intolerance rally organised by the Jamiat-Ulama-i-Hind in the city this afternoon.

Mamata had started out by saying: "Aamir (Khan), Shah Rukh (Khan).... They will target anybody for speaking their mind. They will unleash the CBI or the ED or other such political tools to threaten them. I am not taking names here."

Then, the chief minister proceeded to name Mithun and disclosed why he feared to speak to her.

The actor, elected with Trinamul support to the Rajya Sabha in January 2014, has not been keeping in touch with the chief minister since July last year. Mithun was a notable absentee from the dais during the 2014 edition of the July 21 Martyrs' Day rally of Trinamul. He was not seen at last week's Kolkata International Film Festival, either.

Mithun is not an accused in the Saradha case. The actor has been questioned by the Enforcement Directorate - but not by the CBI till now - because he was one of the brand ambassadors of Saradha.

Tonight, Mithun's niece told the audience at a TV show (named Didi No 1) that her uncle was "extremely unwell".

She added that he "is nursing an injury after falling off a helicopter" and "suffering from problems of the pancreas". Rachna Banerjee, the host of the show and a former co-actor, said: "Mithunda is a wonderful human being, we pray for his good health."

Contacted, a confidant of Mithun said: "Dada fell off a helicopter while shooting for a Hindi film.... He is seriously injured. I can't reveal anything more."

An acquaintance, who did not know about any such accident having taken place recently, said: "Mithunda's family might be referring to an earlier injury on the sets which may have developed into some medical complication now."

Mithun was not available for comment today despite repeated attempts to contact him but sources said he was shattered when his name was dragged into the controversy.

Before associating himself with Trinamul, the actor had worn his radical Left leanings on his sleeve and some of his do-gooder roles complemented his ideological persona. Mithun is known for his desire to help people in need.

"I have about 100 people coming over to my house every day. I try and solve their problems," Mithun had said.

He also took pride in being among the highest income-tax payers in the country - a badge of propriety as well as social responsibility and a rarity in show business in the 1980s when Mithun's Bollywood movies were box-office hits and he was known as the "poor man's Amitabh Bachchan".

Even in the past decade, Mithun's role as a thug-turned-politician with a heart of gold in theFatakeshto films had found wide acceptability among the audience in Bengal.

Against such a backdrop, the sources said, Mithun was crestfallen when his name was mentioned in connection with Saradha. So dejected was Mithun that in June, his lawyers handed over to the ED a demand draft of Rs 1.2 crore. The actor had declared he would give up the money earned from Saradha for promoting the brand. (The ED, which is probing whether any money-laundering took place in the Saradha scandal, is keeping the money with itself, pending the disposal of the Saradha case.)

Mamata's statement on Mithun - Trinamul leaders have been discussing his absence for months now - came at a time the CBI has summoned Trinamul Chhatra Parishad general secretary Shanku Deb Panda. The agency has also ensured that former minister Madan Mitra's release on bail was brief.

While Mithun has not been seen in Trinamul circles, he has not resigned from the party or given up his Rajya Sabha membership.

Srinjoy Bose, a Trinamul Rajya Sabha MP who was arrested by the CBI in connection with the Saradha scam, quit the party and resigned from the Upper House immediately after he got bail. Kunal Ghosh, another Rajya Sabha MP who has been arrested, was suspended from the party and has been languishing in jail.