KOLKATA: Days after it summoned Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Manas Bhuniya over the iCore Ponzi muddle, the CBI on Friday asked Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee to appear before the central agency in connection with the probe.
In another development, TMC’s Madan Mitra was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Saradha Ponzi case. The Trinamool retorted sharply, alleging a concerted effort by the BJP to use the CBI and the ED to malign the image of party leaders.
The CBI sent a notice to Chatterjee asking him to appear at its CGO Complex office next week. Chatterjee had allegedly attended a programme organised by the iCore Group in August 2011 and shared the dais with Bhuniya. Chatterjee, the then industry minister, had allegedly reposed faith in the group in making a mark in the country.
Bhuniya, the then irrigation minister, had also allegedly lauded the effort of the group in generating employment.
Investigators, looking into the money-laundering aspect of the Ponzi firms, are trying to know the reason behind the presence of the two ministers at the iCore sponsored programme. Bhuniya had later claimed that as people’s representatives, politicians have to attend many programmes and that mere presence at an event did not prove any criminality.
“I’ve been an honest person all along. I can’t comment on anything as long as I see the notice, ” Chatterjee said.
TMC MP Saugata Roy said: “The two allies of BJP (CBI and ED) are being used at the whims of Centre. It is a ploy before the assembly polls. They are trying to malign the image of the party.”
iCore Group’s role came to the fore after Sebi barred it from raising money from the market. The then corporate affairs minister, Sachin Pilot, had also mentioned about the company in Parliament.
After CBI began probe, the agency arrested both iCore boss Anukul Maiti and his wife Kanika. Anukul died at Jharpada jail in Odisha last year while Kanika is out on bail. The ED sent a notice to Mitra asking him to appear before the agency on March 19. “I have appeared before the agency earlier too with necessary documents. Surprisingly, they start sending notices before polls. It happened in 2016 and in 2019. I will attend the questioning,” he said.
CBI, which is also probing the illegal coal mining case, has asked Ankush Arora, husband of Menaka Gambhir (sister-in-law of Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee), and his father Pankaj Arora to appear before it next week. Menaka was recently questioned by the agency