The CBI Friday arrested West Bengal Transport Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Madan Mitra in connection with the multi-crore rupee Saradha chit fund scam. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) also arrested Naresh Balodia, the legal advisor of Saradha chief and scam kingpin Sudipta Sen. Mitra was booked for cheating, criminal conspiracy and misappropriation of funds.

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Mamata Banerjee’s Minister Madan Mitra Arrested in Saradha scam:

Before formally arresting him, the CBI quizzed Mitra for the alleged role he played in the Saradha group and his relations with the group’s head Sudipta Sen. Mitra is considered very close to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

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Mitra is the third ruling Trinamool Congress minister to have been arrested in connection with the scam. He has been charged with criminal conspiracy, cheating and taking undue benefits from Saradha group. Mitra’s arrest is a major embarrassment for the firebrand West Bengal Chief Minister.

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Saradha Chit Fund scam: CBI arrests West Bengal Minister Madan Mitra

“Mitra was arrested on prima facie evidence of criminal conspiracy, cheating and misappropriation as well as deriving undue financial benefits from the Saradha group,” CBI official Kanchan Prasad told IANS. “CBI also arrested Naresh Balodia on charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating and diversion of funds in the same case,” she added.

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So far, the CBI has arrested Trinamool Congress MP, Srinjoy Bose; suspended MP Kunal Ghosh and party functionary, Rajat Majumdar along with three other people —Debabrata Sarkar, Sandhir Agarwal and Sadanand Gogoi — in connection with the Saradha scam.

CBI arrests West Bengal Minister Madan Mitra

Ghosh has also accused Mitra of being involved in the scam. Mitra won the Bishnupur Assembly seat of South 24 Parganas district in the 2009 bypolls. He represented the constituency perched in the southern fringes of Kolkata till 2011.

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The Saradha Group, incidentally, started its operations from Bishnupur and, during Mitra’s time, was in full flourish. Mitra lectured at the group’s investors’ meet and ushered heaps of praises on the “good work the company was doing”.