Saradha group boss Sudipto Sen and his close aides Debjani Mukherjee and Arvind Singh Chouhan were sent to nine days’ police custody on Thursday.
The Bidhan Nagar police had asked for 14 days’ police custody but a local court extended their custody by only nine days. Sen and Mukherjee have given explosive statements to the police so far, said police investigators. The duo have accepted that the Saradha chit fund scam is worth at least `2,100 crore while another `400 crore was spent to keep politicians and police officials in good humour.
“Sen has said that `400 crore was spent on MPs, MLAs and police officers. He also said that the scam amount was `2,100 crore.
We are still unconvinced and feel that the figure could increase much more,” a police detective told Express.
Police detectives also told Express that they had information on 254 bank accounts belonging to Saradha group. Of these, 40 bank accounts have no balance while 50 others have negligible balance.
Reacting publicly for the first time since his arrest, Sen said on Thursday, “Let the investigation finish. I will reveal everything.” Meanwhile, a Left delegation met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi demanding a CBI probe into the chit fund scam.
“As several states are involved in this massive fraud, the CBI should immediately be involved in the investigation under the supervision of appropriate Hon’ble Court,” the Left Front said in its memorandum to the PM.