Suspended ED officer Manoj Kumar surrenders in court, remanded to police custody

Notably, Manoj Kumar was ED's investigating officer (IO) in Rose Valley chit fund scam and months ago he was removed from his post after Kolkata Police released a CCTV footage where he was allegedly seen travelling with the wife of the ponzi firm's arrested chairman. 

According to reports, a city-based chartered accountant, Kamal Somani had lodged a complaint at Shakespeare Sarani Police Station in February, alleging that one Pradeep Kumar Hirawat had started extorting money from him, months after an ED team, led by Manoj Kumar, raided his office.

After the complaint was lodged, Kolkata Police started probe into the matter and arrested the primary accused Pradeep Kumar Hirawat.

A police official claimed that during interrogation Pradeep Kumar Hirawat claimed that he was working for ED official Manoj Kumar and he had extorted money from the chartered accountant after being directed by the senior ED official.

After being quizzed by the city police twice, Manoj Kumar appealed for anticipatory bail in the Calcutta High Court and Supreme Court as well and both courts rejected his plea.

Earlier on Apr 27, the Supreme Court dismissed his bail plea and directed him to surrender before Bankshall Court in Kolkata in a week.

However, the suspended ED official surrendered before Bankshall Court on Wednesday afternoon and was remanded to police custody.

While Manoj Kumar was going to surrender, he again claimed that he was not involved in the extortion case and has been trapped by the city police.

A senior official of Kolkata Police told IBNS that Manoj Kumar has been taken to Shakespeare Sarani Police Station, where the case was lodged, for further interrogation.

(Reporting by Deepayan Sinha)