Trinamool Congress parliamentarian Tapas Paul, who is in CBI custody in connection with his reported involvement with the tainted Rose Valley Group, a chit fund company, alleged that Union of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Babul Supriyo was also involved in the group.
Paul talked to media-persons for a brief moment while he was taken for a health check-up to Capital Hospital here on Sunday.
“I am absolutely not guilty. There are many, including Mr. Suprio, who were involved in the scam,” he said while being whisked away in CBI van.
Paul said, “I reiterate that I am innocent. My innocence will be proved later.”
His wife Nandini Paul, who was in Bhubaneswar, said the arrest was politically motivated.
The CBI, which has secured three days of remand, started questioning him about Rose Valley Group’s Odisha operations.
The group, which was operating in West Bengal, Bihar, Assam and Odisha, allegedly collected ₹17,000 crore, promising high returns.
In Odisha, the group had duped investors through its 65 branches. The State crime branch was initially entrusted with the probe into the scam.