The Kolkata police have constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the cheating charges against Trinamool Congress MP K.D. Singh’s chit fund company, Alchemist.
Two directors of the company were also named in the FIR by the city police. The directors, including Mr. Singh’s son, have been accused of raising ₹2.53 crore from small investors and usurping the money. The charges against them include cheating, breach of trust and criminal conspiracy.
Though the news of the FIR emerged only on Wednesday, it was actually registered on March 16, a day before the Calcutta High Court ordered the CBI investigation into the Narada cash-on-camera scam.
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A mistake: Mamata
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday that she regretted her decision to send businessman Mr. Singh to the Rajya Sabha.
“Making K.D. Singh an MP was a blunder. What can I do now?” she said in an interview to a Bengali television channel. “People learn from their mistakes,” she said.
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Ms. Banerjee, however, said she had had no contact with Mr. Singh for a very long time. “He is in the Rajya Sabha, so we need to be in touch occasionally for issuing whip and that is done by Derek [O’Brien]. Otherwise we are not in touch with him.” She said Mr. Singh maintained a good rapport with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Mr. Singh, who has many business interests in north and east India, was embroiled in many political scams, including one involving buying and selling legislators for the 2012 Rajya Sabha polls in Jharkhand. Later, a CBI investigation was initiated in the case.
He funded Tehelka magazine for a while in recent years. Mathew Samuel, former editor of Tehelka , is reported to have told the police that Mr. Singh funded the Narada sting operation, where many TMC leaders were seen accepting bribe.
Ms. Banerjee, however, defended her party leaders. They were innocent, she claimed. “If a journalist comes to a political leader and offers [something] what can the leader do? In such a situation, if we do not trust a person, how do we talk to a journalist?” she said.
“I want full-fledged investigation into the Narada sting case so that the culprits are exposed. It is a political conspiracy against us,” she said. The Opposition, she alleged, had arranged for the sting.