CBI searches for former Kolkata top cop, serves deadline for questioning

The probe agency on Thursday also moved a city court seeking an arrest warrant against Rajeev Kumar in the Saradha ponzi scheme scam

CBI sleuths Thursday searched various locations across the city for top West Bengal police officer Rajeev Kumar in connection with the Saradha ponzi scheme scam and asked him to appear before it on Friday at 11 am.

Kumar, who is the additional director general of CID and is alleged to have suppressed crucial evidences required for preparing the final CBI chargesheet in the scam, has been evading the probe agency's summons to appear before it and his whereabouts could not be traced.

The CBI sleuths branched out to at the IPS officers's mess at Alipore and a five-star hotel on EM Bypass to search for Kumar, the former Kolkata Police commissioner, during the day.

The probe agency on Thursday also moved a city court seeking an arrest warrant against Kumar in the scam.

It had sent letters to the director general of West Bengal police, the chief secretary and the home secretary to help it in tracing Kumar.

The director general of police had said that Kumar has gone on leave from September 9 to 25.

He did not appear for questioning despite notices by CBI after the Kolkata High Court withdrew the protection given to him from arrest on Friday last week.

CBI has asked the West Bengal Director General of Police (DGP) to provide the contact details of former Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar, sources said on Thursday.

The West Bengal DGP in a letter on Monday, had told CBI that its notices were sent to Kumar's official residence and his response was awaited, they said.

In the letter, the DGP had said Kumar had intimated him through his lawyer that he was on leave till September 25 and that he was exploring legal remedies available to him.

The Saradha group of companies had allegedly duped lakhs of people to the tune of Rs 2500 crore promising higher rates of return on their investments.

Kumar was part of a special investigation team set up by the state government to investigate the scam before the Supreme Court handed over the case to the CBI in 2014, along with other chit fund cases.