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Updated September 9th, 2021 at 18:51 IST

In Saradha chit fund case, Special CBI court grants interim bail to TMC leader Kunal Ghosh

TMC's Kunal Ghosh was accused in the Sharada chit fund scam and had surrendered to the Enforcement Directorate following which he received the bail on Thursday

Reported by: Saptarshi Das
Saradha chit fund case
ANI | Image:self
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In the latest development, Trinamool Congress' West Bengal general secretary Kunal Ghosh was granted interim bail by a special CBI court on Thursday in the Sarada chit fund scam case. The special CBI court directed Ghosh to furnish a bail bond of Rs. 20,000 with two sureties of Rs. 10,000 each. TMC's Kunal Ghosh was accused in the Sharada chit fund scam and had surrendered to the Enforcement Directorate following which he received the bail on promises of assisting the investigating officers related to the case. 

Special CBI court grants interim bail to Kunal Ghosh

The special CBI court on August 7 had issued summons to TMC leader Kunal Ghosh and two others and had asked them to be present physically before it on September 20. This came after the ED had urged the court to take the case up on priority which is investigating the allegations of money laundering in the Sharada chit fund scam. Observing that the ED's investigation into the Saradha case Special CBI judge Anupam Mukherjee responded, "There is no reason for detaining him behind the bars." TMC leader Kunal Ghosh was charged along with Sudipta sen in the acquisition of the proceeds of crime and money laundering.

Maintaining that TMC leader Kunal Ghosh is innocent, his lawyer claimed that he surrendered before the court on Thursday soon after getting information about the summons issued by the CBI court. While requesting his bail, Ghosh's lawyer said that he was a law-abiding citizen. The lawyer further termed Ghosh who was charged with defrauding lakhs of people in West Bengal to be was innocent. 

ED special public prosecutor Abhijit Bhadra while turning his attention to the bail of Kunal Ghosh informed the court that he was an influential person. He added, " There is every chance if Ghosh evading trial in the case." It is important to note that the special court by CBI had only summoned Kunal Ghosh to court on September 20 post requests made by the ED.

Saradha chit fund case

The Saradha Group financial scandal was a major financial scandal and alleged political scandal caused by the collapse of a suspicious scheme run by Saradha Group. The group was believed to be running collective investment schemes popularly but incorrectly referred to as Chit funds. In the aftermath of the scandal, the state government of West Bengal where the Saradha Group and most of its investors were based instituted an enquiry commission to investigate the collapse. The state government also set up a fund of Rs 5 billion to ensure that low-income investors were not bankrupted.

The central government through the income tax department and Enforcement Directorate had launched a multi-agency probe to investigate the Saradha Scam. Notably, in May 2014, the Supreme Court of India transferred all investigations into the Saradha Scam and other such schemes to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

(Image - ANI)

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Published September 9th, 2021 at 18:51 IST

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