In the wake of allegations against one of the MPs of All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) for providing money raised from the Saradha Group to Jamaat-e-Islami-Bangladesh (JMB), West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will meet Abida Islam, Deputy High Commissioner of Bangladesh in Kolkata. The Chief Minister will meet the Mr. Islam at the State Secretariat at 4 p.m. on Monday. However, an official of the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission has confirmed that the meeting has got nothing to do with the ongoing probe related to the Chit Fund scam.
“Ms Islam is leaving the country (India) shortly, so we have asked for an appointment with the Chief Minister. It is a routine courtesy call,” the official said. The meeting, however, is significant, as it is going to take place at a time when several intelligence and media reports have indicated that an MP of AITC, Ahmed Hassan Imran, had given money to Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh (JMB), to destabilize the Awami League government in Bangladesh. The media reports — mostly originated from internal and external intelligence inputs — have also indicated that the money was acquired by Mr Imran from Sudipta Sen, CMD of the Saradha Group. Awami League is considered a pro-India party in Bangladesh, while the JMB is one of the key opposition parties and opposes Indian policies.
Mr Imran, who was earlier interrogated by the CBI, for selling his newspaper to Sudipta Sen at an allegedly astronomical amount, denied any involvement in the scam.
“The amount is properly accounted. No money was handed over to anyone in Bangladesh and it was duly explained to the CBI,” Mr Imran told reporters after he was interrogated by the investigating agency, couple of weeks back.
