Kolkata, October 1: In a setback for the CBI, a division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday granted anticipatory bail to the former Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar—who is wanted by the probe agency in connection with the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam case—saying this is not an appropriate case for custodial interrogation.
A pre-arrest bail plea by Kumar was earlier rejected by the Alipore District and Sessions Court on September 21.
CBI has given multiple notices to Kumar—who is currently the Additional Director General in the West Bengal Crime Investigation Department (CID)—to appear before it for questioning as a witness in the scam.
Kumar, however, did not appear before the CBI and sought more time on every occasion.
On September 13, the High Court vacated its order granting Kumar protection from arrest in connection with the Saradha scam. Kumar has been on the run since. A special team brought by the CBI to the city from Delhi also failed to locate the 1989 batch IPS officer.
Division bench of Saidulla Munshi and Subhasish Dasgupta ruled in Kumar’s favour. He is facing accusations of tempering evidence.
Kumar has been granted anticipatory bail on two sureties of Rs 50,000 each. CBI has been asked by the court to give Kumar a 48-hour notice before being called for questioning.
Kumar was earlier subjected to lengthy questioning by the CBI at its office at Shillong. The probe agency, however, insisted on custodial interrogation of Kumar saying that he did not fully cooperate during the questioning since the Supreme Court had already debarred the CBI from arresting him when he would appear before them in Shillong.
The CBI, sources said, is contemplating challenging today’s High Court order in the Supreme Court.
The Saradha Group duped lakhs of people to the tune of Rs. 2,500 crore, promising higher rates of return on their investments.
