KOLKATA: Two central agencies on Friday called six Bengal government officials for questioning as part of their ongoing probes in three separate cases, prompting the Trinamool Congress to call it an example of “brazen misuse of power” by the central government.
The officials called for questioning next week, by the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation, are state security advisor Surajit Kar Purakayastha (Saradha case); principal secretary in chief minister’s office Gautam Sanyal and state additional chief secretary BP Gopalika (Metro Dairy share transfer and disinvestment case); GST special commissioner (Durgapur) Arun Prasad, Kolkata Police additional commissioner Laxmi Narayan Meena and West Bengal Police officer Partha Ghosh (illegal coal-mining case).
The fresh notices to these six officials came on Friday, when the ED questioned Trinamool Congress candidates Vivek Gupta (Jorasanko) and Madan Mitra (Kamarhati) in the Saradha case. Another central agency, the National Investigation Agency, questioned another Trinamool candidate, Imani Biswas (Suti), in connection with the February Nimtita railway station blast case.
The Trinamool Congress saw political vendetta in the renewed activity of central government agencies in poll-bound Bengal. “The BJP is so brazen about all this now. They don’t even bother to make a pretence of fair play. This is classic Modi-Shah tactic,” Trinamool Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien said. Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, too, had urged the Election Commission to probe “the role of central agencies in Bengal” while releasing her party’s manifesto; it followed an ED notice to state home secretary HK Dwivedi to appear before it in connection with the Metro Dairy case.
A state official admitted the notices had come. “It seems to be part of a political carpet-bombing to keep the state administration under pressure,” he said. Another official close to the developments said there was no question of not cooperating with the agencies. “All things known will be shared. The reference points for the central agencies are, anyway, mostly out in the public domain,” he said.
Kamarhati Trinamool candidate Mitra on Friday said he had already submitted all necessary documents to the ED and there was nothing more to provide.
“I have come because they have asked me to do that. I have always cooperated with the agency,” he said.
The CBI and the ED are probing the Saradha Ponzi scam, which broke in 2013 and in which thousands of investors were alleged to have lost about Rs 2,400 crore. The ED is probing the Metro Dairy case, in which there have been allegations that the Bengal government sold its 47% stake in the firm at a lower-than-market value. The CBI is probing the illegal coal-mining case; it has accused several central government officials and Bengal residents of colluding to “cheat” central government agencies in coal auctions. Prime accused Anup Majhi has moved the Supreme Court, raising jurisdiction issues.