Saradha scam: Countdown begins as Mukul Roy spills the beans

There is trouble in the ranks of the Trinamool Congress Party and the questioning of Mukul Roy is something that the party had hoped would have never happened.

The Central Bureau of Investigation which has issued summons to Mukul Roy the big man in the TMC and former Railway Minister says that they have ample proof and material to question him.

An officer with the CBI informed Oneindia that they have with them data pertaining to his cell phone location and also his log book in which travel details are mentioned.

Roy's admission

Mukuk Roy appears to have taken pre-emptive measure and prior to his questioning itself he has said that he had met with Sudipta Sen the Saradha boss. I have done nothing wrong and have nothing to hide he said while adding that the meeting with Sen took place at the Delo Guest House in Kalimpong and Nizam Palace in Kolkata.

I had met him quite a few times, but never after he disappeared, Roy also said. I will meet with the CBI officials and tell them everything as I have absolutely nothing to hide, he also said.

Why is the CBI questioning Roy?

The repeated name taking by Kunal Ghosh and Arvind Singh (Sudipta's driver) has led the CBI to question Mukul Roy. Apart from these two even Debjani Mukherjee, Saradha director had spoken with the CBI about Roy meeting with Sen.
While the CBI is aware that Roy had met Sen a couple of times, they are more interested in finding out about the alleged meeting just before Sen disappeared.

The allegation is that Sen had met with Roy just before he left West Bengal. It is also alleged that Roy had delayed police action against Sen which helped him escape in the first place.

Summons issued after detailed investigation

The CBI says that they issued the summons to Roy only after careful examination of the material and facts before them. We have his travel log details and cell phone locations obtained from the mobile towers, the CBI also claims.

We will question him about his meetings with Sen and also want to find out what role did the top brass of the party play in helping Sen. Further questions regarding a policy decision to bail out investors cheated by Saradha with public money will also be part of our questioning a CBI officer also informed.

What did the briefcase contain?

The CBI is also interested in knowing the contents of briefcase left behind by Sen after the meeting with Roy. According to the confession of Arvind Singh, Sen had after the meeting with Roy at the Nizam Palace left behind a brief case.
CBI sources say it is unclear what the contents of the brief case were. Roy will be able to tell us that the officer also informed.

Further we will also ask him about a land deal in Uttar Pradesh. It was alleged by Asif Khan, Roy's former aide that money by the Saradha group had been pumped into this land deal.

TMC jittery

There is a sense of discomfort in the TMC ranks with Roy ranting in public about his meeting with Roy. The TMC leadership wonders what the Roy will go on to tell the CBI. The TMC has always maintained that the CBI is on a witch hunt. However the questioning of Roy is not something that anyone can make light of.

He is one of the most important persons in the party leadership. When it comes to organizational skills he is far more important that Mamata Banerjee too.

For the TMC this is a very uneasy period and a lot would depend on how the questioning of Roy would go. Roy has said that on reaching Kolkata he will get in touch with the CBI.