Chitfund scam: TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay's CBI remand extended

Bhubaneswar: A special court on Tuesday extended by four days the CBI remand of arrested TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay.

Bandyopadhyay was produced at the CBI-designated Special Chief Judicial Magistrate's court after completion of the six-day remand.

Though the CBI in its petition to the court had sought eight days remand for the TMC MP, judge P K Mishra allowed the central investigating agency four days of custody.

Reacting to the court order, Bandyopadhyay said, "They (CBI) will not free me till Parliament runs smoothly over the demonetisation."

The CBI counsel told the court that though Bandyopadhyay was in remand for six days, the investigating agency could not extract detailed information due to non-cooperation of the TMC MP.

He was for the first time sent to CBI custody for six days on January 4 after his arrest on charges of alleged link in the Rose Valley chit fund scam.

The TMC Parliamentary Party leader had earlier claimed he was innocent and was not involved in the scam. Today, he said, he was targeted for raising demonetisation scheme's adverse impacts on the people.

Another TMC MP Tapas Pal has been sent to judicial custody after his six-day remand in the CBI custody.

Both the TMC MPs were arrested in the Rose Valley chit fund scam which allegedly duped investors of Rs 17,000 crore in different states including Odisha and West Bengal.

The CBI in its charge sheet against the Ponzi company in January last year had mentioned that investors from Odisha alone had deposited Rs 450 crore with the Rose Valley Group.

While Tapas Pal was a director of Rose Valley Group in 2010, Bandyopadhyay has been accused of having strong links with the Group's chairman Goutam Kundu, now in jail, CBI alleged.

The TMC has planned a massive rally here tomorrow alleging "vendetta politics" behind the arrest of the two party MPs.

TMC activists also staged a demonstration on Monday before the CBI state headquarters here and near the court.