AGENCIES
The Central Bureau of Investigation, CBI, has issued a Look Out Notice against former Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar to prevent him from leaving the country.
Sources said all airports and immigration authorities have been directed by the CBI to prevent him from leaving the country and intimate the agency on any possible move.
The agency wants custodial interrogation of Kumar, a 1989-batch IPS officer, in connection with 2500 crore rupees Saradha ponzi scam as he was heading the Special Investigation Team of West Bengal Police to probe the case before CBI took over.
The CBI had told the Supreme Court that custodial interrogation of Kumar was necessary as he was not cooperating with the probe.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was appearing for the CBI, had said Kumar was the in-charge of the investigation by the SIT and had allowed the release of mobile phones and laptops, containing crucial records of the alleged involvement of political functionaries in the scam.
Mehta had said the mobile phones and laptops seized from the accused were not even sent for forensic examination and material evidence was destroyed in the case.
The apex court had last month asked CBI to furnish evidence for seeking custodial interrogation of Kumar in the Saradha case, saying it has to be satisfied that the agency’s request was bona fide and not for political purposes.
The apex court on May 17th had withdrawn protection given to Kumar from any arrest and had asked the CBI to proceed as per law.
Kumar had again approached the Supreme Court on May 20 seeking an extension of protection claiming that the courts in West Bengal were not functioning due to lawyers’ strike.
This petition was rejected following which Kumar had approached a Kolkata court with anticipatory bail.