Caught in a controversy over his alleged links with the Saradha group, West Bengal Transport Minister Madan Mitra, who was discharged from the State-run SSKM hospital on Wednesday, said he was ready to be questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the chit fund scam.
Mr. Mitra, a key Minister in the Mamata Banerjee Cabinet, was asked by the CBI to appear before it on November 21 but the Minister said he was undergoing treatment.
“Whenever the CBI calls me, I will go and tell them whatever I have to. There is no reason why I should be arrested or harassed,” Mr. Mitra told journalists after reaching his residence from hospital.
The Minister’s former assistant Bapi Karim was questioned by the CBI on several occasions.
“I have not taken a penny of the Saradha money,” Mr. Mitra said. He admitted that he was present at an event organised by the Saradha group, but he did not have any idea about non-banking financial companies ( NBFCs) then.
