Award winning film director and actor Aparna Sen and West Bengal Textile Minister Shyamapada Mukherjee appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) here on Monday in the Saradha scam case.
Ms. Sen was summoned by the Central investigation agency a few days ago. She was accompanied by her husband Kalyan Roy. She was associated with one of journals published by the media wing of the Saradha Group.
“As an editor of Paroma (the magazine) I was asked about transaction of money. I told that transaction was not routed through me,” she told journalists, adding “I also want the culprits booked.”
Mr. Mukherjee, the first Minister to be summoned by the CBI in the case, admitted that he had sold a cement factory to the Saradha Group chairperson Sudipta Sen for Rs 2.81 crore.
“It is a baseless complaint,” the Minister said, referring to the allegation that he sold the factory at over-valued rate.
“Can there be any pressure on buying or selling something,” Mr Mukherjee said, when asked whether there was any pressure over the deal. According to ED sources, the company, sold in 2009, was making loss over the past few years. The Minister refused to admit that his summoning has caused any embarrassment for the ruling party and said he had not talked about the developments to party chief and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
