The CBI on Friday arrested Trinamul leader Raju Sahani for allegedly embezzling money deposited with Sanmarg Cooperative, a Burdwan-based Ponzi firm.
Sahani, also the chairperson of Halisahar municipality in North 24Parganas, was arrested after a raid on his New Town flat. CBI sources claimed that till evening, unaccounted cash to the tune of Rs 80 lakh had been recovered from the flat.
An improvised countrymade pistol, real estate documents and papers related to a bank account in Thailand were also found in the flat, CBI sleuths said.
“The accused was arrested as he couldn’t convince us about the source of such a huge sum of money,” a CBI source said, adding Friday’s raid was part of its nationwide probe into all collection deposit cases.
The central agency’s investigations into operations of Sanmarg Cooperative started in 2018 after a Burdwan resi¬dent, who had lost his money kept with the deposit collection company, moved court. The CBI registered the case on October 30, 2018, on the order of the Supreme Court.
The CBI source said during the course of the probe, the agency had zeroed in on Sahani for misappropriating funds of Sanmarg Cooperative which collected money from small investors by promising high dividends. A CBI official said Sahani, a member of the board of Sanmarg Cooperative, was one of biggest beneficiaries of the Ponzi firm.
Sahani is also the son of former CPM leader Laxman Sahani.
Trinamul national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, speaking to reporters following his seven-hour interrogation by the Enforcement Directorate at the Salt Lake CGO Complex on Friday, said Sahani’s arrest was the result of a possible conspiracy by the BJP.
“A probe on a specific complaint has no problem... But shouldn’t Suvendu Adhikari be arrested when there is a specific complaint by (Saradha Group owner) Sudipta Sen?” he asked.
CBI officials ruled out such allegations and claimed Sahani had stolen huge amounts from the Sanmarg Cooperative and transferred them to the bank in Thailand.
“We are at the same time examining who received money from him,” the CBI source said.
