New Delhi: The Supreme Court will hear on Tuesday a CBI plea against Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar who has been accused of allegedly destroying evidence related to the Saradha chit fund scam. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi declined a plea by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta seeking an urgent hearing on Monday. Describing the situation as “extraordinary”, Mehta said: “We fear evidence will be destroyed.”
In response, the Chief Justice said: “There’s no evidence of what you’re saying right now; if you show one proof they are tampering with evidence, or even remotely thinking of tampering, we’ll come down so heavily that they will regret it.” Another application, seeking initiation of contempt against the West Bengal Chief Secretary, Director General of State Police and Kolkata police chief, was also filed by the CBI on Monday.
The agency has further sought direction to the state government to cooperate in the investigation of the scam and make available Rajeev Kumar for questioning. The apex court gave the CBI a day’s time to place on record material to show that the State or its police were “engaged in or planning to destroy evidence connected with the investigation of the scam”.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee continued her sit-in protest in Kolkata on Monday over the Central Bureau of Investigation’s attempt to question Kumar in connection with a ponzi scheme scam. The Trinamool Congress supremo has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah of attempting to destabilise her government.
Meanwhile, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and DMK MP Kanimozhi on Monday arrived at the venue of dharna of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and expressed solidarity and support to her after she began a sit-in protest over the CBI’s attempt to question the Kolkata Police chief.
