Mithun returns Rs 1.23 cr to Saradha group

Aiming to clear his name from his association with the tainted Saradha group, film star Mithun Chakraborty is returning the money he received from the company as its brand ambassador.

Chakraborty, star of several Hindi flicks where he played the defender of the poor against the corrupt rich, is said to have issued a bank draft for Rs 1.23 crore to the Enforcement Directorate, money he received from the Saradha group for promotional work and also hosting a show in its television channel.

Though Chakraborty, unwell for the past few days, was not available for comments, ED sources said his lawyers have already intimated the agency regarding repaying the money. ED is probing the money trail in the Saradha scam.

“Chakraborty received around Rs 1.56 crore from Saradha Group. Since he has already paid income tax on the amount, he issued a bank draft of the amount he had taken home after deduction of taxes,” an ED official in Kolkata said.

 “We have been shown the counterfoil of the bank draft drawn on a nationalized bank in Kolkata for the amount. We’ll receive it in a few days,” the official said.