A city court on Friday remanded suspended Trinamool Congress MP Kunal Ghosh to seven days’ judicial custody after he dramatically recused his lawyer from speaking for him, and then pleaded for either bail or CBI custody to ‘assist’ the agency in its Saradha chit fund scam probe.
Metropolitan magistrate Arvind Mishra rejected his prayers and remanded Mr. Ghosh to judicial custody till September 18, as sought by the CBI.
On being produced before the judge, Mr. Ghosh said he wanted to say something before the court. But the court said as he had given his lawyer the authority to speak for him, he could not make any submission unless he withdrew the power given to his counsel. Mr. Ghosh immediately wrote on a piece of paper that he was withdrawing the power given to his lawyer. The judge also directed Mr. Ghosh not to speak anything outside the case.
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Mr. Ghosh had created a flutter on Saturday when he stated in the court that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee be questioned by the CBI along with Saradha Group Chairman, Sudipta Sen, and himself. He told the court on Friday that other chit fund companies also be probed along with Saradha by the CBI. Mr. Ghosh said some chit fund companies were still collecting money from the public. He claimed that they were also sponsoring an event of which former Industries Minister Partha Chatterjee was the chairman. Mr. Chatterjee is now Higher Education Minister.
When Mr. Ghosh wanted to submit a piece of paper he claimed to have got in the court lock-up from a person, the judge refused to accept it.
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Kolkata Correspondent writes:
The CBI on Friday arrested Sadananda Gogoi, a singer and filmmaker from Assam, in connection with the Saradha chit fund scam.