Video Editor: Varun Sharma and Mohd Irshad Alam
What is the driving force behind CBI vs Kolkata Police and Centre vs State? Saradha Chit Fund scam – a case of economic fraud.
It is alleged that a well-planned nexus of businessmen and politicians fooled the public and duped them of crores of rupees. It was a Ponzi scheme which means it wasn’t based on an investment model but was financed exclusively by the money provided by the investors.
The Saradha group was a conglomerate of 239 companies. The group had promised unrealistic returns to the public on their investments. People bought into the idea of higher returns in a short term.
In the early stages, some investors even benefited from the Ponzi scheme which led to increase in popularity of this scheme. Saradha Chit Fund scam influenced West Bengal, Assam, Odisha and Jharkhand. More than 15 lakh people were impacted.
Saradha group used this money to establish a business empire. The group setup over 300 offices in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha and other north-eastern states.
The group accumulated over Rs 40,000 crores. It also invested in the Bengali film industry, local TV channels, and newspapers. They even gained a foothold in the real estate sector.
The scam was unearthed in December 2012. In April 2013, more than 600 collection agents of Saradha Group gathered outside the TMC office and demanded that action be taken.
Right after that, market regulator SEBI issued an order:
“Saradha Group will immediately end the scheme and will return the money to investors within three months.”SEBI
Head of Saradha group Sudipta Sen and Debjani Mukherjee were arrested. In 2013, the case was handed over to SIT. Current Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar who is right now in the eye of the storm was heading the SIT at that time.
He has been accused of not conducting the investigation properly and tampering with the evidence. Involvement of some TMC leaders was also suspected.
In May 2014, the Supreme Court ordered that in eastern India, all Ponzi schemes including Saradha scam will be investigated by the CBI.
CBI wants to question Kolkata police commissioner over missing files and folders. CBI has filed over 80 charge sheets and recovered over Rs 1,000 crore.
But the actions of CBI on 3 February have turned the entire issue into a high voltage drama. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sat on a ‘dharna’ against the CBI team and slammed the CBI, PM Modi, Amit Shah and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
(The video was originally published on Quint Hindi and has been translated by Anubhav Mishra)
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