CBI sceptical of investigating Sudipta Sen's letter

By Team Newsable | First Published Dec 7, 2020, 2:52 PM IST

A letter, purportedly written by Sudipta Sen, owner of the blacklisted Saradha chit fund company, alleging that crores of rupees were given by him to leaders of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), CPI(M) and Congress. According to the letter, Sen wants the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the matter. CBI officials believe that

Sudipta Sen's letter written while in jail will not fall under their investigation.

A letter, purportedly written by Sudipta Sen, owner of the blacklisted Saradha chit fund company, alleging that crores of rupees were given by him to leaders of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), CPI(M) and Congress has evoked mixed reactions in Bengal politics. Sen is lodged in a correctional home (jail) in Kolkata and waiting for trial.

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The letter says that Sen is pained to see that those who took the money are “now joining the BJP.” The amounts mentioned range from Rs 2 crore to Rs 9 crore per head. According to the letter, Sen wants the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the matter.

CBI officials believe that Sudipta Sen's letter written while in jail will not fall under their investigation.

CBI officials claim that the letter was not written directly to the CBI. As a result, the agency could not investigate the allegations, according to media reports. However, if the Prime Minister or the Chief Minister requests the CBI to officially investigate the matter, it will be considered. Besides, even if the court orders, the CBI may investigate. Prior to the investigation, the jail authorities would be asked whether the letter was actually written by Sudipta Sen.

Incidentally, according to the transcript of the letter, Sudipta Sen has accused four top leaders of taking the money. The CBI recently came across an audio clipping of the Saradha Chit Fund investigation. The letter, dated December 1 and addressed to the Prime Minister and the chief minister, was mysteriously leaked to the media on Saturday (December 5) along with a forwarding letter purportedly sent by an official of the Kolkata’s Presidency Correctional Home, where Sen is lodged, to the state correctional department.

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“I don’t know what Sudipta Sen has written and why he has done so. A man who is about to face trial does not have the right to bring allegations against other people while he is in jail,” BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said at a rally in Midnapore on Sunday.

Columnist and political commentator Suvashis Maitra said, “It would not be proper to comment on the content of the letter. What intrigues me is how it got leaked. A lot of letters are being leaked these days.”

Sen wrote a similar open letter in 2013. It was a seven-page handwritten note in which he said that he was used as a pawn by politicians and influential people who wanted his money and resources.

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