WB govt to file affidavit on steps taken against Saradha

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday directed the West Bengal government to file an affidavit on the steps it has taken against the Saradha Group and also directed the company not make any financial transaction till further orders.

Taking up a PIL seeking a CBI investigation into the alleged multi-crore chitfund scam by the Saradha Group, a division bench comprising Chief Justice J N Patel and Justice Joymalyo Bagchi directed the state government to file the affidavit by May 2.

The PIL was filed on April 22 by advocate Basabi Roy Chowdhury praying that a CBI investigation be ordered into all chit fund companies and the arrest of Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Kunal Ghosh alleging that the scam amounted to Rs 30,000 crore (Rs 300 billion).

Chowdhury's

counsel Subroto Mukhopadhyay, said that the petitioner has prayed for the arrest of Ghosh, the Saradha Media's executive chairman alleging complicity in the scam.

The petitioner prayed that all properties owned by Saradha Group be taken over by the government.

Saradha Group chairman Sudipto Sen and his close associates Debjani Mukherjee and Arvind Chauhan were arrested at Sonemarg in Kashmir and were brought here on Wednesday.

The matter would come up for hearing again on May 3.