Chit fund scam: CBI trying to locate Kolkata police chief

Kolkata, Feb 03: The CBI is trying to locate Kolkata police chief Rajeev Kumar to question him in connection with Rose Valley and Saradha ponzi scams and it might arrest him as the last resort, officials said.

The IPS officer, who led a Special Investigation Team of West Bengal Police probing the scams, has to be questioned regarding missing documents and files but he is not responding to notices to appear before the agency, they said. Kumar, a 1989 batch IPS officer of West Bengal cadre, did not even attend a meeting with Election Commission officials who had gone to Kolkata to meet him regarding election preparedness, sources said.When contacted, his staff claimed Kumar had come to office Friday but had left.

"There is very little chance that he will come to office now. You can try on Monday or call his residence," his office staff told PTI over phone. The number of his residence given by his staff did not ring and the calls made to his mobile number remained unanswered.The officials said Kumar apparently became apprehensive of his arrest after Bengali film producer Shrikant Mohita was taken into custody.

According to some eyewitness accounts, Kumar was spotted in a book fair some days back. The Rose Valley scam is worth over Rs 15,000 crore and Saradha scam is about Rs 2500 crore. In both cases, the perpetrators allegedly have links with the members of the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, they said.

In both cases, like all other ponzi scam cases under the CBI probe, the investors were lured with attractive interest rates, they said.They were allegedly duped by ponzi scam companies which refused to return money after maturity of deposits and finally closed their shops. The Supreme Court had handed over probe to the CBI in 2014. Kumar was appointed as the Kolkata Police commissioner in 2016.