Cops on a roll on Saradha agent's gifts

- Parked on police station premises, two telling symbols

MONALISA CHAUDHURI AND DEBASHIS CHATTOPADHYAY

An SUV gifted by a Saradha agent to police parked at the Baruipur police station on Tuesday

Another SUV gifted by the Saradha agent was being used by the inspector-in-charge of Baruipur till a couple of days ago, according to investigators and people in the neighbourhood. Pictures by Bibhash Lodh

Calcutta, April 30: Proceeds from the Saradha Group kept Bengal police on the move — at least in Baruipur, according to information stumbled upon by investigators into the default scandal.

The police have learnt that Arindam Das, an agent who apparently made the highest collections from Baruipur in South 24-Parganas, had gifted two Tata Sumos (WB26R6763 and WB20U6409) to the local police station.

"The two SUVs used in Baruipur police station were gifts from Arindam Das," said a senior officer of Bidhannagar police. Both cars were spotted inside the Baruipur police station compound on Tuesday. (See pictures)

The white Tata Sumo was being used till a couple of days ago by the inspector-in-charge (IC) of Baruipur police station and is registered in the name of Saradha agent Nihar Howli, an investigating officer said.

People in the neighbourhood said Baruipur IC Subrata Kangshabanik had been using the white Tata Sumo since the past few months. "Baro babu (as ICs are often referred to) rides that car. But he has stopped using that car since the past two days," said a shopkeeper.

Contacted by this newspaper over phone, IC Kangshabanik disconnected the line and did not reply to a text message seeking his reaction to the allegation.

Bidhannagar police have stumbled upon signs of Das's proximity with police officers while investigating Saradha's deposit-mobilisation in Baruipur division, from where the company apparently collected over Rs 10 crore a month.

As the main agent in charge of the division, Das aka Bumba tried to befriend police officers with offers of cash and kind, an investigator said. "Some accepted, some did not. We are examining the role of a Trinamul leader, Rafique Sanpui, in connection with Das's dealings with the force," the officer said

Contacted, Sanpui said he was the president of the Trinamul Youth Congress in Ramnagar Block I. "Arindam is a friend and I helped him when this Saradha crisis broke out. But I did not hand over any gifts to police," Sanpui added but did not say how he helped Das during the crisis.

The investigators have come to know that the white Tata Sumo is registered in the name of Nihar Howli, son of S. Howli, Sibanipeeth, Baruipur, while the red one is in name of one Ramesh Shikari, son of M. Shikari of Paschimpara, Nalua-35 in Mathurapur, South 24-Parganas.

On reaching the Howli home at Kiran Height apartments in Sibanipeeth, a five-minute walk from the Baruipur railway station, neighbours said that the family sold the flat two months ago and shifted to a rented house in the neighbourhood.

At the rented house, Pranati, who identified herself as Nihar's wife, told The Telegraph: "My husband alone used to collect no less than Rs 1 crore a month for the Saradha group. He has around 5,000 junior agents working for him and he was under Das."

Asked about the Tata Sumo, registered in Nihar's name, Pranati pleaded ignorance. "We do not have any car," she said, adding that her husband was not at home.

Shikari, in whose name the other SUV is registered, could not be contacted.

Das, a resident of Vivekananda Pally in Baruipur, was not found at home on Tuesday afternoon. "The entire family has fled from the house since the Saradha scandal came to light," said a neighbour.

On Tuesday, 11 vehicles were seized from the compound of Saradha Agro Development in Piyali Town by the Baruipur subdivision police. The food-processing unit was apparently run by Das, according to people in the neighbourhood.

The impounded vehicles included six ambulances, one Scorpio, two Maruti Omnis and one Tata Sumo. But the two Tata Sumos in the police compound were not among those seized.

Officers of Bidhannagar police are probing leads that Das had siphoned off Rs 33 crore from Saradha, apparently by printing fake receipts using his access to the company's software. "He used the software to print receipts to give the investors. But the money never reached the company," said an investigator.

Naparajit Mukherjee, the DGP and the head of the special investigating team probing the defaults, was not available for comment. Sivaji Ghosh, the second-in-command in SIT, said he was not aware of any nexus between Saradha agents and the police. "We have not received any complaint of this sort. If we do, strict action will be taken," Ghosh said.

Search and quiz

The net appeared to be widening during the day with searches being carried out at the Behala offices of a deposit-mobilisation company said to have been close to the government.

Sajan Agarwal and Sandip Agarwal of Kamala Tea, whose names feature in Saradha chief Sudipta Sen's purported letter to the CBI, were questioned today. The letter had claimed that the Agarwals were close to a Delhi-based leader and Sen was banking on an associate of the duo to ensure protection from the capital markets watchdog.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced that the state government had instructed two deposit mobilisation companies to shut down operations in 24 hours.

"Two companies with four or five other holdings by the same name have been asked to close down in 24 hours," Mamata said in the Assembly. She did not reveal the names of the two companies.

A senior finance department official said he was not aware if the state had the authority to initiate such action.

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