KOLKATA: The political circles might be abuzz with the arrest of cabinet minister for sports and transport MadanMitra by the CBI, the central agency is already looking forward in terms of collecting evidence against influential men. What has not gone unnoticed, therefore, is the arrest of Saradha boss Sudipta Sen’s legal counsel NareshBhalotia by the agency. Even as the lawyer’s aides claim that he was merely performing his professional duties, the CBI insisted that Naresh can well turn out to be an important link to the top influential men of Saradha – a role that has been played by the likes of BapiKarim and Asif Khan in the past.
Sources in CBI insist that Naresh was privy to a number of transactions involving Sen and other influential persons, including ministers and MPs. One of them was Mitra himself. CBI officials say it was Bhalotia who had provided the first leads against the transport minister when he had deposed before them on an earlier occasion. “We are hoping that his statement will help us track down the role of another TMC MP accused of plotting Sen’s escape from the state,” claimed a source.
One key question, therefore that the CBI hopes to ask the lawyer is his exact role – if any at all – in the drafting of Sen’s purported letter to the CBI. Some of the documents seized from him during an earlier raid by the central agency had indicated that the lawyer had known Sen for a long time and was well aware of his client’s businesses.
Officially, the CBI has charged him with criminal conspiracy, cheating and diversion of funds. “We have not charged him with misappropriation of funds unlike Mitra. Hence, we are aware of his exact offences,” said Kanchan Prasad, chief information officer of CBI in Delhi. CBI officer in Delhi also believes that a time will come when Bhalotia might have to be brought face to face with at least two other key Saradha accused. “We will seek the police custody of these two men whom we have arrested earlier and bring them face to face with Bhalotia in order to gain evidence against a MP suspected to be involved in the scam,” said an investigating officer.
Bhalotia’s aides though are confident that he is innocent. “A lawyer is expected to be helping his client by providing legal advice. That is all that Bhalotia was trying to do. He has cooperated with CBI officials on all occasions. We do not understand why he was arrested along with Mitra. We are confident that we can prove his innocence,” said one of his aides.
Sources in CBI say that they need to cross-check the statements made by the lawyer in police remand. It is likely that just like the minister, the agency will also ask for details of his accounts and property in the next few days. “We already have a statement regarding Bhalodia from Sen but it has no legal authenticity. Hence we are using Sudipta’s statement only to cross check on the evidence that we have found against the lawyer,” said the officer.
TOI | Dec 15, 2014
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