Saradha case: Former Kolkata top cop Rajeev Kumar moves SC, seeks extension of protection
New Delhi, May 20 (IBNS): Former Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar, who is accused of bailing out the Trinamool Congress in the Saradha chit fund scam, moved the Supreme Court to seek an extension of a seven-day protection from arrest, media reports said.
Kumar has cited the strike of lawyers as the reason behind his seeking of extension.
The Supreme Court on last Friday granted seven days to Kumar to seek protection from arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Saradha case.
On Feb 3, a face-off between the Kolkata Police and CBI began after the central investigation agency officers went to Kumar's bungalow in south Kolkata's Loudon Street after the CP skipped three previous summons. Local police personnel manhandled the CBI investigators and forcibly detained them.
Following the incident, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sat on a two-day dharna (sit-in-demonstration) to defend the top cop and protest the CBI action. Several Opposition leaders at the national level had extended their support to Banerjee.
Later, the CBI went to the Supreme Court to get order to interrogate Kumar and the apex court had directed the Kolkata commissioner to cooperate with the CBI and to appear before it in Shillong, considered a neutral venue.
A three-justice bench of the Supreme Court also directed the CBI that it could not arrest Kumar immediately.
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