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The West Bengal government today welcomed the Supreme Court verdict asking the CBI to probe the Saradha chit fund scam in which lakhs of investors were cheated of their money in the state and elswhere.
State finance minister Amit Mitra said, "We welcome the order although it has come just two days before the last phase of the Lok Sabha poll."
Initially reluctant to involve the CBI in the investigation on the ground that the central agency had not been able to make any headway into the Nandigram and Netai killings, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee later changed her stance, saying that the government was not averse to it.
Mitra also demanded that the CBI probe all the chit fund companies which were operating in the country besides those in the state.
He said that although the CBI had not been able to make any breakthrough into the Netai and Nandigram cases, the government was hopeful that the central agency would be able to come out with results this time, and the cheated depositors would repaid their hard-earned money.
"It is heartening to note that the SC has praised the work so far by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the state government in connection with the Saradha scam, although the judgement is yet to be seen".
"The apex court also said SIT would continue with its investigation on all the chargesheets filed by it. This shows that the SC has reposed its faith on the state-formed body," he told reporters here.
