CBI begins probe into Saradha chit fund scam

CBI probe into Saradha chit fund scam begins New Delhi: CBI has begun its probe in the over Rs 10,000-crore Saradha chit fund case as its seven-member Special Investigating Team (SIT) started collecting documents pertaining to the cases from four states and other agencies. [caption id=“attachment_1522217” align=“alignnone” width=“300”]  Ranjit Sinha[/caption] CBI Director Ranjit Sinha will soon hold a meeting with the officers on the case which was transferred by the Supreme Court last week. Over the next two weeks, CBI will collect documents from Odhisa, West Bengal, Bihar and northeastern states after which an action plan for probe would be decided upon, according to the agency. The SIT, to be headed by Joint Director Rajeev Singh, will also probe the role of market regulators like Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Reserve Bank of India (RBI). CBI Special Director Anil Kumar Sinha has been asked to monitor the progress in the probe into the cases and exercise administrative control under the overall supervision of the CBI Director. “Investigation conducted so far puts a question mark on the role of regulatory authorities like SEBI, Registrar of Companies and officials of the RBI within whose respective jurisdictions and areas of operation the scam not only took birth but flourished unhindered,” a bench headed by Justice T. S. Thakur said in its order. The team was formed in the wake of the Supreme Court order on Friday in response to a PIL asking CBI to probe the matter and directing the state police to cooperate with the central agency in the investigation. Saradha Group’s chief Sudipta Sen was arrested by West Bengal Police in Kashmir last year. Kunal Kumar Ghosh, a Trinamool Congress MP, was also arrested on November 23 last year in connection with the scam. Ghosh was the media CEO of Saradha Group of Companies. (PTI)