Investigation of Saradha Scam is once again in the headlines. The Enforcement Directorate has seized the properties of P Chidambaram’s wife Nalini Chidambaram, East Bengal official Debabrata Sarkar and former CPM MLA Devendranath Biswas in the Sarada chit fund scam.
The ED issued a press statement on Friday afternoon saying that a total of immovable property worth Rs 3.30 crore and immovable property worth Rs 3 crore have been seized. Those who benefited variously from the Sarada clan or Sudipta Sen own these properties. The assets of all those persons have been confiscated under the Unlawful Financial Transactions Act.
Sarada Karta Sudipta Sen’s lawyer and counsel was Nalini Chidambaram, wife of former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram. The Central Bureau of Investigation had earlier questioned him. Also East Bengal Karta Debbrata Sarkar has been questioned earlier in the chit fund case. Another person, Devendranath Biswas, was a former police chief and CPM MLA.
In the statement, the ED said, Sarada group illegally withdrew Rs 2459 crore from ordinary depositors. Of this, the depositors still owe Tk 1983 crore. Incidentally, in 2014, the Supreme Court ordered a CBI investigation into the Sarada case.
Incidentally, Congress Lok Sabha leader Adhir Chowdhury said, “What CBI and ED have been doing for the last eight years is a matter of curiosity. He suddenly woke up. But our question is, is this property confiscated, is it really for the sake of investigation, or for political purposes? People no longer trust these two agencies.”