CBI's Interrogation Reveals The Cracks In The Saradha Scam Investigation

The CBI’s interrogation of the Kolkata Police chief reveals the cracks in the agency’s Saradha scam investigation.

- Rabi Banerjee

On February 5, while directing Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar to appear before the CBI at a neutral venue, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi quipped, “Go to Shillong. It is a cool place.”

Gogoi’s order ensured that Kumar spent several days fielding queries from the CBI team investigating the Saradha chit fund scam. The irony was unmissable. The commissioner, who had earlier refused to meet CBI officers at his official bungalow in Kolkata, ended up shuttling from a cottage outside Shillong to the CBI office at Oakland.

Kumar, who had led the Kolkata Police’s special investigation team (SIT) that probed the Saradha scam, is accused of destroying evidence in the case. His interrogation was gruelling. In the first four days, he spent more than 40 hours responding to a 22-page questionnaire that had around 200 queries.

Kumar’s legal adviser, Biswajit Deb, said the commissioner was not an accused. “He was questioned on some vital issues as a witness,” he said. The CBI, however, insists that Kumar is an accused.

Kumar went to Shillong with Deb and two subordinates on February 8. A special aircraft flew him straight to the hill station from Kolkata. He checked into a cottage at Tripura Castle, a five-acre resort on the outskirts of Shillong, owned by the erstwhile royal family of Tripura. The CBI officers took a commercial flight to Guwahati, and then drove for three hours to reach Shillong.

The interrogation, which was scheduled to start at 10am on February 9, began an hour late because of extreme cold and the delay in making arrangements at the CBI office. Twelve CBI officers, including two from Kolkata, questioned Kumar for eight hours on the first day. He was asked about the case diaries which the police in Bidhannagar had allegedly doctored before handing them over to the CBI. Kumar was Bidhannagar commissioner when he was appointed head of the SIT probing the Saradha scam.