Saradha Scam: Kolkata HC Grants Anticipatory Bail To Former Top Cop Rajeev Kumar, Dismisses CBI Plea

In a major jolt to the CBI, the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday (1 October) granted anticipatory bail to senior IPS officer Rajeev Kumar in the Saradha ponzi scam case.

The High Court's Division Bench asked Kumar, who is presently the Additional Director General, West Bengal Criminal Investigation Department, to furnish a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and two persons as surety in order to get the relief.

The bench of Justices S Munshi and S Dasgupta ordered Kumar to present himself before the Central Bureau of Investigation whenever they summoned him for questioning related to the multi-crore scam probe.

At the same time, the court asked the CBI to give a 48-hour notice to Kumar whenever they wanted to question him as part of the probe.

The judges did not find merit in the CBI plea for Kumar's custodial interrogation at this stage of the interrogation and said he would be granted bail immediately if the probe agency arrested him in connection with the case.

The court, however, said that the CBI was free to move an appeal to a higher judiciary against the order.

Kumar moved his anticipatory bail application before the Division Bench on 24 September alleging that the federal probe agency was "hounding" him. The hearing was held "in-camera" following a plea by the IPS officer's counsel.

On 21 September, Kumar suffered a setback in his bid to secure pre-arrest bail when the Alipore District and Sessions Court rejected his plea.

Prior to that, the CBI had moved a petition for issuing a non-bailable arrest warrant against Kumar in the Alipore court, which disposed it off saying the former Kolkata Police Commissioner could be arrested by the CBI in accordance with law if it felt that it was required.

Kumar, as the then Commissioner of Bidhannagar Commissionerate, headed the special investigation team (SIT) set up by the state government in 2013 that probed the ponzi scam.

The Supreme Court in May 2014 handed over the case to the CBI, which has accused him of tampering with evidence and not handing over crucial documents connected with the case.

(With inputs from IANS)