Saradha scam: Former Bengal minister Madan Mitra's judicial remand extended

Kolkata: A city court on Thursday extended the judicial custody of former West Bengal minister and Trinamool Congress leader Madan Mitra, an accused in the Saradha chit fund scam, by another 14 days till December 17. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Sougata Roy Chowdhury remanded Mitra, who was present in the court room, to 14 days' judicial custody.

Though Mitra's counsel did not press for bail, they prayed for the release of Rs one lakh, which the TMC leader had deposited as security bond and his passport which was submitted to the police during his release on October 31.

Requesting that Mitra be treated as a Division-I prisoner, they also requested that all necessary medical assistance be extended to the former minister as he was suffering from various ailments.

Mitra, former Transport Minister, had surrendered before the court after his bail was cancelled by the Calcutta High Court on November 20. The TMC leader was earlier arrested on December 12, 2014.

The investigation into the ponzi scam, which came to light in 2013, showed that the Saradha Group allegedly used 338 bank accounts and 224 companies to dupe investors from various states. Official estimates peg the swindle at Rs 1,200 crore.

Former Union minister Matang Sinh is among those arrested in the case, while several TMC functionaries, including Mamata Banerjee's former aide Mukul Roy, have been questioned. CBI had taken over the investigation in June, 2014 on the Supreme Court's orders.