Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Apr 23: Police today detained Saradha group Chairman-cum-Managing Director and a Director of the company from Central Kashmir tourist resort of Sonamarg in Rs 20, 000 crore Kolkata chit fund scam.
A senior police officer said here that police in Sonamarg detained Sudipto Sen and Debjani Mukherjee, Chairman-cum-Managing Director and a Director of the Saradha group respectively, and Arvind from Sonamarg. The three detained persons had been lodged in Ganderbal Police Lines and will be handed over to the West Bengal Police tomorrow.
The officer said that the trio admitted that they were the same persons wanted by the West Bengal Police. A Sub-Inspector of Bengal Police is also here in Srinagar but the Jammu and Kashmir police have not handed over custody of the three detained persons to them him yet. A police team from West Bengal is on its way to Kashmir to take their custody from Jammu and Kashmir Police tomorrow.
A Scorpio vehicle with a West Bengal number plate had also been seized from the hotel. The trio were being tracked by the Bengal police and they informed to Jammu and Kashmir police about the tower location of the three men wanted in the multicore scam.
A Police party from Sonamarg Police Station raided the Snowland hotel where the three persons were staying. They had arrived in Kashmir two days back but were being tracked by West Bengal Police.
The trio will be produced before court tomorrow for transit remand and then taken to West Bengal.
PTI adds from Kolkata:
Bidhannagar Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar told reporters “a police team from West Bengal verified the identities of the three and they were arrested.”
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who had earlier ordered Sen’s arrest and indicated he was somewhere in North India, confirmed the arrest.
“Their identities have been confirmed and the entire credit for the arrest goes to the police,” she said.
Police sources said the three had set out from the Salt Lake residence of Sen in Kolkata on April 12 in the Scorpio.
They first drove to Ranchi and then through different states before reaching Sonamarg within the last two days, the sources said.
Since their vehicle bore West Bengal registration they were detained on suspicion by the Jammu and Kashmir Police and the West Bengal Police were informed, they said.
The West Bengal Government has announced formation of a Special Investigation Team and a high-level inquiry into chitfund companies after the collapse of the Saradha group.
The buble burst after capital market regulator SEBI started cracking the whip on chit fund companies for flouting rules triggering pressure on the group’s finances.
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