Saradha case: Ex-Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar fails to appear before CBI, seeks month's time owing to wife's illness

Former Kolkata Police commissioner Rajeev Kumar, who was summoned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)  for questioning in connection with the multi-crore Saradha ponzi scam, failed to appear before the agency on Saturday. [caption id=“attachment_6019101” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of former Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar. News18[/caption] According to a report in DNA, the officer has sought one month’s time from the agency due to his wife’s illness. “We have received an email where he had sought more time. We cannot share what reason he has stated,” a source in the CBI told Zee News. Meanwhile, security was strengthened outside Kumar’s Kolkata residence. The CBI on Friday had issued summons to Kumar and asked him to appear before it at 10 am on Saturday, after the Calcutta High Court withdrew his protection from arrest. The IPS officer failed to turn up at the CBI office on Saturday, prompting the investigating agency to seek advice on further legal action against Kumar from its counsel YJ Dastur, according to India Today. However, the report claims that the CBI is not contemplating immediate coercive action against the officer. Kumar, who is currently the West Bengal Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Additional Director General, was part of a special investigation team (SIT) set up by the West Bengal government to investigate the scam before the Supreme Court handed over the case to the CBI in 2014, along with other chit fund cases. He is accused of tampering with evidence. The Saradha group of companies allegedly duped lakhs of people to the tune of Rs 2,500 crore, promising a higher rate of returns on their investments. With inputs from agencies