CBI's special team hounds Kolkata ex-top cop

Kolkata, Sep 19: A special CBI team of 12 members flew in to track down the "untraceable" CID additional-director general Rajeev Kumar on Wednesday, the same day that Kumar appealed before an Alipore court saying the CBI needed a "go-ahead" from the West Bengal government before acting against him in the Saradha scam case.

The special team was formed on Tuesday to trace the location and whereabouts of former Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar, to join the investigation in the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam case at the earliest.

On this day after a special court refused to hear Kumar's anticipatory bail plea, he moved to Barasat District Sessions Court seeking for bail. Kumar's lawyer, Gopal Haldar, cited provisions under CrPC Sec 197 which say courts must have government sanction before prosecuting a public servant.

According to the report, CBI has formed this special team comprising hand-picked officers from the agency's offices in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh includes two officers of the rank of the police superintendent. It was constituted to zero in on Kumar as the CBI's Kolkata unit was getting increasingly bogged down trying to stay a step ahead of his legal moves.