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| Rajat Majumdar at the CBI office before his arrest on Tuesday. Picture by Mayukh Sengupta |
Sept. 9: The Trinamul Congress watched shell-shocked as the CBI today arrested its vice-president who was a senior police officer and summoned its Rajya Sabha MP, Srinjoy Bose, for questioning tomorrow in the Saradha case.
Rajat Majumdar, the former director-general of armed police, was arrested in the first such action against a leader of the ruling party by the central agency probing the Saradha scam.
The CBI had earlier arrested Debabrata Sarkar alias Neetu, an official of East Bengal Club said to be close to some politicians. But Sarkar does not hold any party post. Kunal Ghosh, the sole Trinamul MP in custody now, was arrested by the state police and handed over to the CBI once the Supreme Court asked the central agency to conduct the probe.
Bose, who was elected to the Rajya Sabha on a Trinamul ticket and whose nickname “Tumpai” figures in the purported letter Saradha boss Sudipta Sen sent to the CBI, was sent a notice by the agency to appear before it tomorrow.
Bose’s family runs Mohun Bagan Club. With Sarkar in custody and Bose being asked to appear for questioning, the rival clubs are finding themselves mentioned together in connection with the Saradha scandal.
The arrest of Majumdar, who used to oversee Mamata Banerjee’s security in the 2011 election that pitchforked her to power in Bengal, cast a pall of gloom in Trinamul.
Minutes after Majumdar’s arrest was announced, Mamata left Nabanna with mayor Sovan Chatterjee. Lieutenants who have been lining up over the past few days to defend the leadership stayed away from public glare or Calcutta on one pretext or the other.
Later, Trinamul leader Partha Chatterjee sought to draw a distinction between individuals and the party — an unusual response, considering Majumdar is a Trinamul vice-president. “The party does not take responsibility for any individual’s actions. It is not right to link the party with this. And if there is any political motive, that will be looked into,” Chatterjee said.
Majumdar was arrested on charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating and misappropriation of funds after an eight-hour interrogation.
“He was almost in tears and he went down on his knees soon after we told him of his arrest. The former DG pleaded that he had served the police force for long and had a great reputation. He promised he will never abscond,” a senior CBI officer said.
Soon after his arrest, Majumdar took ill and was taken to NRS Medical College. Till late tonight, he was in the ICCU and various tests were being conducted.
Majumdar had joined the Saradha Group in 2010 as a security adviser on a monthly salary of around Rs 10 lakh. The retired top cop formally joined Trinamul in 2010.
“Records reveal that his rise in Trinamul and Saradha more or less coincided…. He became a president of Saradha Group in 2011. He became the party’s vice-president around the same time,” said a CBI officer.
As a president of the group, Majumdar was close to Sen and reportedly handled financial matters, being a qualified chartered accountant.
Since the CBI took over the investigation in May, the agency questioned him on two occasions and searched his residence — actions that stood out in sharp contrast with the state police’s response when they were probing the same case.
The special investigation team appointed by the Bengal government had probed the scam for more than a year but did not question Majumdar even once. Attempts to contact Rajeev Kumar, the Bidhannagar commissioner of police under whom the probe team worked, drew a blank this evening.
“For over one-and-a-half years, this is what the SIT of Bengal has been trying to do — remove all relevant documents and shield the prime accused…. That’s why the state government was opposed to a CBI probe,” said Rahul Sinha, the BJP state president.
The CBI summoned Majumdar in the morning and questioned him — sometimes in the presence of Kunal Ghosh, the Trinamul MP who had said Mamata had benefited the most, and briefly with Asif Khan, a former Trinamul poll observer. (Khan today made a telling statement after he was questioned by the CBI: “Before 2008, it was the CPM that used to beat us up. After 2013, it’s Saradha.”)
Asked why Majumdar was arrested, a CBI officer said: “There were several incongruities in his statements and it was evident he was trying to hide things, including his exact agreement with Saradha.”
CBI sources said the agency wanted to know whether the retired IPS officer had used his influence and political contacts to ensure immunity for the Saradha Group.
CBI director Ranjit Sinha today said he was aware of reports of the alleged meeting between Mamata and Saradha boss Sen in Kalimpong in 2012. “Yes, I know of it. I have read it in newspapers. I do not want to comment on this,” Sinha said.
“We are proceeding in the right direction and hope to achieve bigger results in a short time,” Sinha added.
Name: Rajat Majumdar
Professional qualification: Chartered accountant
Professional career: Indian Police Service (IPS), 1971 batch
Key assignments: Served in the CID for more than 15 years as DIG and DIG (operations)
Retired as: Director-general (armed police) in 2008
Trinamul connection: Started frequenting Mamata Banerjee’s Harish Chatterjee Street residence and Trinamul Bhavan from 2009 onwards
Joined Trinamul: In 2010
Role in Trinamul: Appointed a vice-president. Used to oversee Mamata’s security arrangements during the 2011 Assembly poll campaign. Made observer for Birbhum in
the 2011 Assembly polls and Murshidabad in the 2013 panchayat polls
Saradha connection: Joined Saradha Group as security adviser in 2010. Made one of the presidents of the group in 2011. Chief organiser of the Biswa Banga Sammelan
in Las Vegas in 2012
Govt-related roles: Board member of the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited and the West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited. Appointed an adviser to the transport department to oversee helicopter services in
2013, resigned from the job in February 2014
Batchmate speaks: J.K. Dutt, former NSG chief, says: “I am out of touch
with him for a long time…. As a police officer, he knew what he had to do.”
