Suvaprasanna. File picture

Calcutta, Nov. 26: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) will by next week take a call on steps that could be initiated against painter Suvaprasanna for failing to turn up for questioning in the Saradha case despite repeated reminders on summons.

The CBI team probing the Saradha scam is planning to question Suvaprasanna for the second time.

Sources said a senior ED officer from Delhi would visit Calcutta to take stock of the progress of the agency’s probe and decide on the course of action with regard to the painter.

Some senior officers said that according to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, the ED could first impose a penalty on Suvaprasanna for not responding to the summons. The next step could be legal action, including arrest.

“We have already questioned him twice and there are discrepancies between his claims and our findings. We have summoned him again and sent several reminders but he is not coming, claiming indisposition,” an ED officer said.

A source said Suvaprasanna was seen in an early morning flight to Delhi yesterday. “While he was waiting for a vehicle outside Delhi airport, he was heard telling someone over phone that he would meet that person at 12.30pm,” the source said.

The Telegraph tried contacting Suvaprasanna several times but his cellphone was either busy or the calls went unanswered. Text messages did not elicit any response.

The ED wants to question the painter for details on the sale of his company, Devkripa Vyapar Pvt Ltd, to the Saradha Group in 2011.

The CBI has questioned Suvaprasanna on whether he had any role in the sale of Mamata’s paintings during an exhibition at Town Hall in January 2013.

The CBI today interrogated Himanta Biswa Sarma, a former Assam minister.