Saradha boss, aide to face police questions in fresh case

Kolkata, May 19 (IANS) Sudipta Sen, Saradha Group chief and alleged mastermind of the chit fund scam, and one of his close aides were Sunday sent to 10 days’ police custody by a West Bengal court in a fresh case.

Sen and his employee Arvind Chauhan were sent to police custody by a South 24-Parganas district court on a complaint lodged by Manik Chakrabarty, an agent of a Saradha Group chit fund company who claims to have collected money from over 3,000 investors.

In his complaint to the Baruipur police station, Chakrabarty accused Sen of cheating and defrauding people.

A day after Sen was remanded in judicial custody by another court, the Saradha promoter Sunday requested Baruipur Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Debdeep Manna to send him to police custody as he wanted to help in the investigation.

“Speaking for the first time in court after his arrest, Sen today (Sunday) said he wanted to help the investigators as well as refund the investors’ money,” Sen’s counsel Samir Das said.

“According to Sen’s wishes, we did not oppose the prosecution’s plea for police custody and the court sent him to 10 days’ police custody,” added Das.

Police attacked with batons angry investors and agents of the group who had gathered around the court premises and were demanding “death penalty” for the Saradha Group promoter. One person was injured in the baton charge by police.

Sen and two of his close aides – Chauhan and company director Debjani Mukherjee – now facing a plethora of police complaints across West Bengal, were arrested from Sonmarg in Jammu and Kashmir April 23, days after the group collapsed, unable to repay lakhs of mostly poor depositors from rural areas.

On Saturday, a North 24-Paraganas court sent Sen and Chauhan to judicial custody till May 22, 23 and 31 in six different cases of alleged cheating and non-payment of salary to the employees of Saradha Group.

Mukherjee was Saturday admitted to a city nursing home due to her poor health.

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