Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar 'Absconding' Fearing Arrest in Chit Fund Scam Cases
Rajeev Kumar, a 1989 batch IPS officer, went slow or diluted the SIT probe in multi-crore Saradha and Rose Valley Ponzi scams.
New Delhi, February 3: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is trying to locate Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar, who according to the agency is absconding fearing arrest in chit fund scam cases. Rajeev Kumar, a 1989 batch IPS officer, went slow or diluted the SIT probe in multi-crore Saradha and Rose Valley Ponzi scams, the CBI said on Saturday. The police commissioner is known to be close to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
According to the CBI, the agency wanted to question Kumar, who led a Special Investigation Team of West Bengal Police probing the scams, regarding missing documents and files but he is not responding to notices. He recently skipped a meeting with Election Commission officials who had gone to Kolkata to meet him regarding election preparedness. According to sources, Kumar faces “imminent arrest” by CBI. CEC Seeks Explanation on Kolkata Police Chief's Absence in Meet; CM Says Sorry.
Kolkata police officials, however, said that Rajeev Kumar was not on run and he attended his office on Saturday. Kumar attended office on Saturday and worked till late in the evening, officials told TOI. “There is very little chance that he will come to office now. You can try on Monday or call his residence,” his office staff told PTI over phone. The number of his residence given by his staff did not ring and the calls made to his mobile number remained unanswered.
The Rose Valley scam is worth over Rs 15,000 crore and Saradha scam is about Rs 2500 crore. In both cases, the perpetrators allegedly have links with the members of the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal. In both cases, like all other ponzi scam cases under the CBI probe, the investors were lured with attractive interest rates, officials said.
They were allegedly duped by ponzi scam companies which refused to return money after maturity of deposits and finally closed their shops. The Supreme Court had handed over probe to the CBI in 2014. Kumar was appointed as the Kolkata Police commissioner in 2016. (With PTI inputs)
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 03, 2019 11:42 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).