Rajeev Kumar skips CBI date, moves court to avoid arrest
Kolkata: Silently begging for an anticipatory bail to court to stop his arrest, senior IPS officer Rajeev Kumar has again evaded the CBI’s summons in the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam on a day the investigating agency filed a caveat in the Supreme Court to tighten the noose around him.
Instead of moving the apex court, the former Kolkata police commissioner filed the anticipatory bail plea under a veil of secrecy at a special court in Barasat of North 24 Parganas on September 14, two days after the Calcutta high court snatched away the blanket protection on his arrest.
The CBI however came to know Mr Kumar’s prayer later. Mr Kumar’s petition will come up for hearing on Tuesday. The CBI has decided to oppose his plea vehemently referring to how he skipped two notices for appearance before it for his questioning after HC’s order.
Alleging non-cooperation, it has also plans to file a prayer in the court to issue a non-bailable arrest warrant against Mr Kumar. In its second summons, the CBI had directed Mr Kumar, now the additional director general of the criminal investigation department (CID), to present himself at its office in CGO Complex of Salt Lake at 2 pm on Monday.
But he remained elusive as he had done on September 14. Later, the CBI moved the top court and filed the caveat assuming that Mr Kumar may also move there. Sources say that the caveat was filed so that the CBI could also take part in the hearing in case Mr Kumar files any prayer there. Earlier in the day, the CBI sent its team to visit Nabanna, the state secretariat, for the second day to deliver letters to chief secretary Malay De and home secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay to seek information from them about Mr Kumar’s whereabouts.Both the letters were accepted.
On Sunday the CBI had sent two similar letters to state director general of police (DGP) Virendra at the state secretariat to trace Mr Kumar.