West Bengal Transport Minister Madan Mitra resigns

West Bengal Transport Minister Madan Mitra, accused in the Saradha chit fund scam, today resigned, hours after CBI argued before the Calcutta High Court that his bail be cancelled.

Mitra submitted his resignation to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who accepted it and forwarded it to Governor K N Tripathi.

"The Chief Minister has accepted Madan Mitra's resignation which was forwarded to the Governor at 9.09 PM. The Governor has also accepted his resignation. Mitra has cited personal reasons behind his resignation," a senior official at the Raj Bhavan told PTI on condition of anonymity.

The resignation came just hours after CBI today pleaded before the Calcutta High Court to cancel Mitra's bail citing that he is still functioning as a cabinet minister in the state government.

During a hearing of the CBI petition for cancellation of Mitra's bail, the agency's lawyer K Raghava Charyulu claimed before a division bench of Justice Nishita Mhatre and Justice Tapas Mukherjee that the minister's influence was all pervasive and as such he could tamper with evidence as the investigators were trying to find the Saradha scam money trail.

Mitra was given bail by an Alipore court on October 31 and he walked out of prison on November 1, after ten months in jail following his arrest in connection with the chit fund scam case.