Saradha accused in Assam

Guwahati: Saradha Group director Debjani Mukherjee, a co-accused in the multi-crore deposit collection scam, was brought here from Dum Dum Central Correctional Home in Calcutta and produced before the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) Court on Friday.

Mukherjee was produced in the Assam special court in connection with a case registered against her and Saradha group owner Sudipta Sen by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) here. She was remanded in judicial custody till January 25.

Sen couldn't be produced on Friday as he was being produced in a Bengal court in connection with another case. The PMLA Court here ordered that Sen be produced along with Debjani before it on January 25.

In November 2017, the court had issued warrants that the two be produced before it. The ED had filed a prosecution complaint (chargesheet) in the court here, charging Sen and Mukherjee of committing offences under Section 3 of the PMLA Act, 2002.

The ED also made a prayer before the court to confiscate properties of Saradha Realty in Assam which they had allegedly acquired with proceeds from the alleged crime.

Sen and his companies own at least five plots of land in Kamrup (metro), Dhubri and Darrang districts of Assam and the total value of these properties run into crores of rupees.

Investigations conducted by the ED has revealed that the Saradha Group collected Rs 2,459.59 crore from depositors in Assam between 2008-2009 and 2013-14. The ED, in the chargesheet filed in the PMLA court, says Saradha Group was raising money from the public between July 2008 and April 2013 through four of its companies.

The four companies are Saradha Realty India Ltd (SRIL), Saradha Tours & Travels Pvt Ltd, Saradha Housing Pvt Ltd and Saradha Garden Resorts and Hotels Pvt Ltd.

The ED chargesheet says investors have been made to put their money in different schemes of the group with promises of high returns, much higher than those available with other investment options in the market. These collections were primarily made though the 25 branches under SRIL's Guwahati division spread across Assam.