CBI registers case against close Mamata aide Shibaji Panja

New Delhi, June 13: The CBI has registered a case against Shibaji Panja, considered close to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, his two colleagues and his company for allegedly cheating IDBI Bank in tune of over Rs 180 crore.

The action comes in the background of a complaint by IDBI Bank against Panja, Kaustuv Ray, Vinay Bafna, all Directors of R P Infosystem Ltd alleging that it has suffered a loss of Rs 180.44 crore because of their actions.

"It was alleged that the accused persons had availed credit facilities from IDBI Bank, Kolkata by furnishing false stock/debtors statement and cheated the bank. An alleged loss of Rs 180.44 crore(approx) was caused to IDBI Bank," CBI Press Information Officer, R K Gaur said in New Delhi on Friday.

The agency has registered the case under section 120B (criminal conspiracy) read with 420 (cheating), 468 and 471 (both related to forgery) of IPC. Ray told PTI that complaint of IDBI was baseless.

The agency, sources said, had recently carried out searches at six places in Kolkata, in the office and residential premises of the accused persons, which led to recovery of incriminating documents including laptop, pen drives and internal hard disc etc.

Panja, who is known as a close aide of Banerjee, is a Kolkata-based businessman who was arrested in February in a case of allegedly cheating a Delhi-based company IFCI factors of Rs 18 crore after which a look-out notice was issued by Delhi Police. Panja had accompanied Banerjee as non-official delegate during her visit to Dhaka in February and was detained at the airport upon his return.

PTI