Saradha chit fund scam: Trinamool MP Ghosh granted bail

05 October, Kolkata

The Calcutta High Court Wednesday grated interim bail to suspended Trinamool Congress MP Kunal Ghosh, giving a major relief to one of the key accused of the Saradha chit fund scam after nearly three years of his arrest.
He was granted bail against a bond of Rs 2 lakh.

“The period of the bail has been set up to November 11,” a two-judge bench comprising Justices Asim Kumar Roy and Malay Banerjee observed.

Ghosh, now in custody, is likely to walk out of jail tomorrow. He was arrested by the Bidhannagar City Police on November 23, 2013 and later charge sheeted by the CBI in the Saradha scam.

The High Court, however, imposed some restrictions on his movements and asked him to submit his passport to the CBI and has to appear before the agency once a week. The High Court also empowered the CBI to call Ghosh for questioning whenever required. He has also been barred from travelling outside the jurisdiction of Narkeldanga police station where his residence is located.

The High Court’s order came a day after it observed that there was no need to keep him behind bars any more. It held that the law of the land does not provide for any ground to keep Ghosh in custody further. Justice Roy chastised CBI lawyer K Raghavacharyulu who opposed the MP’s bail plea and sought more time for hearing.Earlier, former Trinamool minister Madan Mitra was granted bail by the Alipore court on September 9.