Hopeful of filing chargesheets in Saradha scam case by November: ED

Kolkata: Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday said it is hopeful of filing chargesheets against the accused in the multi-crore rupee Saradha scam by November this year. [caption id=“attachment_1517893” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File photo of the police escorting Saradha Group’s Chairman Sudipta Sen. Reuters.[/caption] “The investigation process is by and large over with a few things left here and there… We are tentatively planning to file the prosecution complaint (chargesheet) against the accused in the Saradha scam probe by November this year,” a highly placed ED source told PTI. The chargesheets would cover a substantial part of crime proceeds of the investigation and would be filed with the city sessions judge, the designated Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in the city, according to the source. He said some more people might be asked to depose before the department if required on verification of the attachments. During the course of ED’s probe into the money trail, which started in April 2013, properties worth Rs 350 crore had been attached and had been confirmed by the adjudicating authority. ED had attached properties in West Bengal, Assam and Odisha, he said, adding bank accounts belonging to Saradha group having a balance of Rs 70 lakh had also been recovered and attached. So far ED has conducted more than 100 interrogations and arrested three people. CBI had apprehended two persons while the West Bengal police probe team nabbed another five, the source said. PTI