Saradha scam: CBI arrests Matang Sinh after quizzing him for eight hours

A CBI statement said, "In the Saradha chit fund scam in West Bengal, Sinh, former Union minister, has been arrested by the CBI on charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating and misappropriation of funds."

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Matang Sinh

Matang Sinh

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday arrested former Union minister Matang Sinh after eight hours of marathon interrogation in connection with the multi-crore Saradha Group chit fund scam. A senior Congress leader from Assam, Sinh was questioned in connection with his alleged dealings with the media business of Saradha which was floated by its chairman and managing director (CMD) Sudipta Sen. He arrived at the CBI's CGO Complex office in Salt Lake around 11.30 and was called for the first time to face questions regarding his business transactions with Sen.

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A CBI statement said, "In the Saradha chit fund scam in West Bengal, Sinh, former Union minister, has been arrested by the CBI on charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating and misappropriation of funds."

Sources said Sinh was earlier questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) sleuths in New Delhi and his statement recorded under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act. On Saturday evening, high drama prevailed as Sinh along with his personal assistant suddenly attempted to come out of the CBI office and speak to the waiting media outside. But the duo was barred from doing so by CBI sleuths. Even senior CBI officials stepped out of their rooms and stopped a much agitated Sinh and his employee Swati Sardana.

Sinh was arrested after this drama-filled episode. Later, Sardana spoke to the waiting media after emerging from the complex, "Sinh is on life-saving medicines as he is undergoing a liver transplant. The CBI officers were trying to make him upset. When the person is willingly cooperating...the CBI officers are just trying to satisfy their ego. I don't know what their problem is?" Later in the night, he was admitted to a hospital. Dubbing the CBI interrogation "gundagardi (hooliganism)", she said the investigators have "bad intentions" to harass Sinh in the name of interrogation. "Thus, they are misbehaving. Sinh has submitted all case-related documents to them already. He has also given the first installment of Rs 50 lakh to the SIT to repay the duped investors," she clarified.

Sardana said businessman Rajesh Bajaj was also called for interrogation by the CBI along with Sinh and the duo was interrogated together. It was learnt that the investigating agency had summoned the Congress leader (Sinh) at least six times before but he had managed to avoid them citing health reasons. Earlier in the day, after arriving at the CGO Complex, Sinh had told the media, "Getting into a business deal is not a crime. I do not know Sen." Sinh had further said that he had already "submitted money to the Shyamal Sen Commission" to repay the investors.

Manoranjana Sinh, the estranged wife of Matang Sinh, had earlier admitted that Sudipta Sen had given her Rs 21 crore to set up a channel in the north-eastern states. She was also interrogated by the CBI.

Former prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao had inducted Sinh as the MoS for parliamentary affairs in his government from 1991-1996.