The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday granted anticipatory bail to former Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar in the Saradha chit fund scam case saying this is not an appropriate case for custodial interrogation. The relief for Rajeev Kumar, a confidante of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, however, comes with a rider according to which he is not allowed to leave Kolkata. The CBI, will now, move the Supreme Court seeking custody of the former top cop.
A bench comprising justices S. Munshi and S. Dasgupta said that if Kumar is arrested in connection with the case, he will have to be released on bail by an appropriate court on two sureties of Rs 50,000 each. The bench directed Kumar, who is currently the Additional Director General of the West Bengal Crime Investigation Department (CID), to make himself available before the investigating officers in the case on a 48-hour prior notice by the CBI.
On Monday, CBI lawyer Y.J. Dastoor had concluded his submissions opposing Kumar's pre-arrest bail plea before the two-judge bench. The bench, which heard the proceedings 'in-camera', adjourned the matter for the day.
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Kumar's lawyers had concluded their arguments in favour of his pre-arrest bail plea on Thursday before the division bench. His counsels had prayed for 'in-camera' proceedings in the case which the court agreed to on September 25, directing that only those advocates who are related to the case would be present during the hearing.
A pre-arrest bail plea by Kumar was earlier rejected by the Alipore District and Sessions Court on September 21.
The central probe agency has given multiple notices to Kumar, who is currently the Additional Director General in the West Bengal Crime Investigation Department (CID), to appear before it for questioning as a witness in the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam.
He, however, did not appear before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and sought more time on every occasion.
The Saradha group of companies allegedly duped lakhs of people to the tune of Rs 2,500 crore, promising higher rates of return on their investments.
(With PTI inputs)
