CBI at Bengal minister's door over chit fund scam

Partha Chatterjee is among the Trinamul observers for the Bhawanipore bypoll

Partha Chatterjee:File picture

Arnab Ganguly   |   TT  |  Calcutta   |  13.09.21: A CBI team landed at the door of another minister in the Mamata Banerjee government in a connection with a chit fund deposit scam on Monday.

CBI officials  reached the Camac Street office of Pratha Chatterjee, the heavyweight Trinamul leader and state industries minister, who had turned down the Central investigation agency's directive to visit it's office, saying officials could instead meet him at his office or home.

The minister, among Trinamul-appointed observers for the Bhowanipore Assemby by-elections, had reasoned that he was busy with poll-related work. On Monday Chatterjee was at  his departmental office.

CBI is interested in questioning Chatterjee regarding his ties with Icore, a deposit mobilising company which had duped  investors by promising high returns on investments.

According to the CBI, Chatterjee had attended a number of programmes organised by the company and heaped praises on the late owner Anukul Maity, who died in CBI custody in Bhubaneswar last November.

The minister is understood to have told investigators that he attended events as he led the industry department and believed the company could generate employment in the job-starved state.

"This is another case of political vendetta. We've time and again said that BJP govt is only targeting TMC govt because Mamata Banerjee is the only leader who's opposing their anti-people policies," said Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Trinamul Rajya Sabha MP, on the CBI raid.

This is not the first time that Chatterjee had averted CBI’s interrogation.

The CBI team’s interrogation of Chatterjee is bound to further raise the heat in the already charged bypoll, crucial for Mamata to return to the Assembly and continue as chief minister for the third term.

While the case is old, the timing of the interrogation is also likely to provoke the Trinamul into accusing the BJP of unleashing central probe agencies to coerce rival political leaders. 

The CBI had earlier arrested two ministers Subrata Mukherjee, Firhad Hakim, MLA Madan Mitra and former Trinamul leader and ex-Mayor of Calcutta Sovan Chatterjee in connection with the Narada bribery case. Mamata’s nephew and Trinamul’s all India general secretary Abhishek Banerjee was interrogated by the Enforcement Directorate in Delhi last week in connection with a coal mining scam.

Mamata has dismissed all the charges against her party leaders and ministers.

The CBI is yet to issue any statement on the interrogation.