Now these Trinamool leaders command assets worth Rs 500 crore to Rs 1,000 crore - Asif Khan

Asif dig at TMC leaders’ quick-rich story

Dwaipayan Ghosh,TNN | Sep 6, 2014, 12.31 AM IST

Asif Khan

KOLKATA: Businessman Asif Khan, once the close aide of a former Trinamool Congress Union minister, made an explosive statement on Friday, alleging that several Trinamool leaders have made "fortunes" over the past three years.

"I have seen some of these leaders going to sleep without food. Now these leaders command assets worth Rs 500 crore to Rs 1,000 crore. I do not know who gave them the money or from where it was accumulated. It must be good for all of them is my only guess," Asif — whose house was raided by CBI on August 29 for alleged Saradha links — told a TV news channel.

Asif is editor of Aajker Kalom — the reincarnated version of Saradha publication Kalom — and was convenor of Trinamool's Uttar Pradesh unit. His statement is likely to stir a hornet's nest in the party. What's interesting is that the top Trinamool leader he was once close to also made a Saradha remark recently that triggered tremors within. This leader's son, too, had sparked controversy some time ago by saying that "fortune seekers" were grabbing all the limelight in Trinamool.

It's a pattern that whenever Trinamool mid-level leaders are cornered in the Saradha probe, they come out with explosive media statements against the top brass of the party. For instance, suspended Trinamool MP Kunal Ghosh had alleged two days after his arrest in November last year that the Trinamool top leadership met Saradha mastermind Sudipta Sen at Delo near Kalimpong in March 2012 on the sidelines of an official tour of chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Sources say CBI wants to question Ghosh on his sensational allegation. Officers, however, said it was too early to say if the meeting had indeed take place. "We are looking into the allegations just like we are probing the Saradha-IRCTC deal," said a source. Trinamool has repeatedly denied there was any such meeting.

There was enough indication on Friday that CBI is getting to closer to the "high and mighty" involved in the Ponzi scam. Sources said the probe will include a fresh accusation made by businessman Sandhir Agarwal, who was arrested some time ago. "During the initial rounds of questioning, Sandhir kept refuting the charges that he was a middleman in a deal involving Saradha and Sebi and RBI officials. Instead, he told CBI investigators how Sudipta Sen flaunted his connections with the Trinamool leadership. Sandhir claims that it was not him but Sudipta who had agreed to play middleman to iron out differences between the Orion group and Trinamool," said a source.

CBI is trying to file a preliminary chargesheet at the earliest to establish the role of some politicians. The key to this chargesheet is locker No. 107 of a nationalized bank branch on College Street in Kolkata. Its key was found during a search at the residence of former East Bengal Club functionary Paltu Das on August 28. Sources say the contents of this locker can unravel the cash flow from Saradha HQ to various beneficiaries.

The locker might be opened next week. Though it was in the name of a person close to Paltu Das, it was reportedly operated by East Bengal Club boss Debabrata Sarkar aka Nitu, say sources.

"In his letter, Sudipta had mentioned that he carried cash to be distributed to Nitu to either East Bengal club or a residence near Amherst Street that is close to the Das family residence," said a CBI source, adding that they are checking certain memos that show large volumes of cash were transported at night from Saradha's Midland Park HQ to a an Amherst Street address.