Tripura government confiscates assets of Rose Valley chit fund

Tripura Government has seized bank accounts and attached properties of most of these organisations.

Agartala, Jan 21: The Tripura government on Saturday began confiscation of movable and immovable properties of Rose Valley chit fund organisation, an official said.

"The Principal Secretary (Finance) M. Nagaraju on Friday issued a notification to attach all the movable and immovable assets of Rose Valley in more than 20 places across the states," a Finance Department official said. He said the notification asked all district and sub-divisional magistrates of eight districts to take necessary action to confiscate the properties.

"The DMs and SDMs on Saturday started confiscation of the Rose Valley assets as per provisions of 'Protection of depositors rights' act passed in the state assembly earlier," the official said. The Rose Valley chit fund which launched its business in Tripura many years back is still enjoying rights over at least twenty movable and immovable properties in the state.

Sadar sub-divisional magistrate Samit Roy Chowdhury said on Saturday that they have confiscated a big park, a large seven-storey building, a tea garden, nine flats, a large number of LIC policies and empty land.

The properties belong to Rose Valley under the banners of various shady companies.

The chit fund is now under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation and its sole proprietor Gautam Kundu was arrested in Kolkata in 2015.

The official said the state government through the DMs and SDMs has seized movable and immovable properties of many chit fund organisations in Tripura.

The Tripura High Court last year asked the state government to set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe illegal Non Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and chit fund organisations.

Meanwhile, SIT head and Tripura's Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) K. V. Sreejesh said the SIT was probing 78 cases involving 48 NBFCs and chit fund organisations and had arrested 112 persons.

"We have seized bank accounts and attached properties of most of these organisations. We will soon complete our probe," the officer added.

In 2013, the Tripura government had referred 37 cases relating to chit fund companies and NBFCs to the CBI. The central probe agency, however, took up only five cases.

IANS