Calcutta HC grants protection against arrest to top cop

In a major relief to former Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar the Calcutta High Court on Thursday granted him protection from arrest and any other coercive action till July 10.

Kumar, who currently holds the post of the ADG CID approached the high court earlier in the day seeking quashing of CBI’s notice to him in relation to the Saradha chit fund scam.

After hearing the arguments Justice Pratik Prakash Banerjee stated that the petition will again come up for hearing before a regular Bench on June 12.

The vacation Bench of the high court which heard the petition on Thursday instructed Kumar to fully cooperate with the CBI and submit his passport within 24 hours of the passing of the order.

The Bench also instructed Kumar to appear before the CBI whenever he is summoned by the central agency. It also directed Kumar to record his attendance with the concerned CBI official on a daily basis at 4 pm.

Kumar’s plea of extending protection against arrest by CBI in relation to the Saradha scam was turned down by the Supreme Court last week. The Supreme Court stated that Kumar can approach the Calcutta High Court or a trial court to get legal relief in the case.

Earlier this week Kumar did not appear before CBI for questioning despite being summoned by the Central agency. He sought extra time from CBI stating that he was currently on leave.

Kumar became the center of controversy during an unprecedented standoff between Kolkata Police and CBI in February when a team of CBI officials tried to interrogate him at his residence and was temporarily detained by Kolkata Police. Kumar was the Kolkata Police Commissioner at that time.

Earlier in the day, another IPS officer from West Bengal Arnab Ghosh was interrogated by the CBI in relation to the Saradha chit fund scam for the second time since Thursday.