Madan Mitra gets bail in Saradha scam

Nearly 11 months after his arrest by the CBI, heavyweight Trinamul Congress minister Madan Mitra was granted bail by the Alipore court on Saturday in the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam. He faced arrest on December 12 in 2014, when he appeared for the first time before the CBI.

Acting district and sessions judge Partha Pratim Das ordered the bail to Mr Mitra, now admitted in SSKM Hospital citing ill-health, against a personal bond of `2 lakhs, including a local surety of `1 lakh, said his lawyer Ashoke Mukherjee adding the court however barred the MLA from Kamarhati in North 24 Parganas, also the state transport minister, from leaving West Bengal and directed him to submit his passport to the CBI.The judge ruled as the investigation into economic offences is based on documents, no fresh evidence would emerge if Mr Mitra would further be kept in the judicial custody and the accused would not be able to influence it after getting the bail. The CBI is however planning to move the higher court against the order. Mr Mitra’s bail came after the CBI virtually gave a walk-over to his lawyers during the hearing.

Not only the CBI’s senior public prosecutor K. Raghavacharyulu and the Saradha Realty case’s investigating officer Phani Bhushan Karan, an additional superintendent of police, were absent, the case diary of the Saradha Realty case, in which Mr Mitra was booked on cheating, criminal conspiracy and several charges and was chargesheeted by the CBI, was not submitted before the judge even after it was sought and time was given.

CBI lawyer Ankush Sarkar reasoned since Mr Karan had been in the Raipur Court to appear as an witness after getting a notice in a separate case, the case diary could not be furnished at the court in his absence. Seeking the hearing be postponed, he prayed for another date for the hearing.

Mr Mitra’s lawyers opposed the CBI’s move pointing out a notice about the hearing of the bail plea had already been served to the CBI on October 14. The judge rejected the CBI’s plea and vowed to hear the matter on the day itself.