CBI questions TMC's Kunal Ghosh in Saradha chit fund scam case

The CBI has questioned Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Kunal Ghosh in connection with the Saradha chit fund scam nearly a month after he was appointed national spokesperson of the party, ending doubts about his association with the Mamata Banerjee-led political outfit.

The agency questioned Ghosh on Wednesday, officials said.

Ghosh was the CEO of Saradha Media, an arm of the Saradha Group which was busted in 2013 for its illegal operations, and was arrested by Bidhannagar police in 2013 for his alleged involvement in the chit fund scam, they said.

The TMC had reportedly suspended him for anti-party activities months before his arrest but there had been no formal statement or communication from the party on his status as its leader.

"I had read in the newspapers that the party had suspended me. But I have never received any communication from the party in this regard. I was always in touch with the party. I am thankful to our leader Mamata Banerjee for allowing me to serve as spokesperson," Ghosh had told PTI after his appointment as the party's national spokesperson last month.

The CBI has pressed the paddle on its probe into the Saradha and other chit fund cases with its chief RK Shukla asking the officers to register all pending 102 FIRs before next year.

West Bengal, where the majority of chit fund cases were reported, is scheduled to go for assembly elections in April-May next year when BJP and other parties will try their best to unseat Banerjee who will complete a decade as Chief Minister.