Saradha chit fund scam: HC to hear ex-Kolkata Police commissioner Rajeev Kumar’s plea seeking protection from arrest on 17 July

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court will hear former Kolkata Police commissioner Rajeev Kumar’s plea seeking protection from arrest in connection with the Saradha chit fund case on Wednesday.  A single judge bench of Justice Asha Arora said it would hear the matter at 12 pm on 17 July. [caption id=“attachment_4452873” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Calcutta High Court. Wikimedia commons[/caption] The court had earlier extended interim protection from arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to Kumar till 22 July. Kumar had moved the High Court seeking quashing of a CBI notice asking him to appear before the agency in connection with the multi-crore chit fund scam. A lower court in Kolkata had earlier turned down his anticipatory bail plea seeking an extension of protection from arrest and recommended he approach the Calcutta High Court or trial courts in Bengal to “seek appropriate remedy”. Kumar, who headed the state police’s Special Investigation Team that probed the Saradha scam, is accused of tampering with evidence in the case. An unprecedented chain of events had unfolded on 3 February when a CBI team reached Kumar’s residence to question him. The team was detained, taken to a police station and was later released. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had also visited the officer’s home.