The Calcutta High Court Monday granted bail to Rajat Majumdar, the first Trinamool Congress leader to be arrested in the multi-crore rupee Saradha scam.
Majumdar, a former IPS officer, was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and has been behind bars since Sep 9, 2014.
The former director general of the West Bengal Armed Police was granted bail Monday by the bench of Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee and Justice Indrajit Chatterjee.
Pressing for his bail, Majumdar's counsel contended that the CBI was yet to provide any evidence to prove his involvement in the scam, but the CBI counsel opposed the plea on the grounds that Majumdar was an influential person and could tamper with the evidence.
The court, however, accepted the Trinamool leader's bail plea subject to certain conditions.
"He has been granted conditional bail on furnishing sureties of Rs.1 lakh. He has been directed by the court not to leave Kolkata and North 24 Parganas district," said Majumdar's counsel Milon Mukherjee.
"He also has been asked to appear before the investigating agency once every week," he added.
Majumdar is the second Trinamool leader after Srinjoy Bose to get relief.
Bose, a former Rajya Sabha member, was granted bail Feb 4 after spending 75 days behind bars. He subsequently resigned both from Trinamool Congress party and parliament.
Arrested on charges on grounds of conspiracy, cheating and misappropriation of funds, Majumdar has been named by the CBI in its charge sheet filed Nov 17.
Besides working as a security advisor for the tainted Saradha Group after retirement, he joined the Trinamool and served as the party's poll observer for Birbhum district for the 2013 panchayat elections.
His name cropped up after suspended Trinamool Rajya Sabha member Kunal Ghosh, now behind bars, accused him of swindling crores of rupees in organising a cultural programme in Las Vegas (US) in 2012.
