The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday arrested Debabrata Sarkar, an official of the East Bengal club in connection to the ongoing probe in the Saradha scam.
The CBI had quizzed Mr Sarkar several times over the past few weeks and on August 14 his house was alsosearched by the central agency.
The club official was summoned by the CBI during the day at the agency’s office at Salt Lake and later arrested in the evening. According to sources, the CBI found discrepancies in his statement and the documents found from his home.
“Mr. Sarkar is the first person outside the Saradha Group to be arrested in the scam,” a senior CBI official told The Hindu.
“Incriminating documents along with fixed deposit Rs. 25 lakhs were recovered from his residence. He is accused of conspiring with Saradha top brass in misappropriation of funds of the company,” the official said.
The sports official is considered close to Saradha Group chairperson Sudipta Sen. Mr Sen has told investigators that he has given money to Mr Sarkar to ensure that his Ponzi business continues without any interference of central regulatory agencies like Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
Meanwhile, a day after Mr. Sen claimed that all the properties of the company are being “looted” the CBI filed a fresh appeal before city court seeking afresh custody of Mr Sen.
“All the properties of the Saradha Group in West Bengal and outside it are being looted. I will appeal to media…. only you can stop it,” Mr. Sen had told journalists while being produced before a court on Tuesday.
In another significant statement the prime accused in the multi- crore scam (Mr. Sen) had said that West Bengal government Minister and All India Trinamool Congress leader Shyamapada Mukherjee had purchased a cement factory from him at a higher price that he has claimed.
Mr. Mukherjee who has claimed that he sold the cement factory at Rs. 2.8 crore was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) another central agency probing the scam earlier this week in connection with the deal.
