Tripura Rose Valley Scam: CM and close aides under scanner

The West Bengal-based Rose Valley group has allegedly duped investors to the tune of Rs 17,000 crore. This was confirmed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) making the chit-fund scam seven times bigger than the Saradha Scam which had also generated a lot of political heat.High profile political arrests has been made by the CBI which included Trinamool Congress MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay booked under IPC sections 420 (cheating), 408 (criminal breach of trust), 120b (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (common intention) and various sections of Prize, Chits and Money Circulation (Banning) Act of 1978. This case is being investigated both by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The ED has filed a prosecution complaint (equivalent of charge sheet) under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) where it had requested the court to allow it to confiscate properties worth Rs 332 crores. This was done after scanning over 3000 bank accounts of company related transactions and the agency mentioned ,"This has been the biggest ever attachment of liquid cash by any government agency in the country".

However it is not only officials and authorities who are running scared, the muck now also has fallen to 'one of the cleanest Chief Ministers' in the country or so it seems .Gautam Kundu, CMD of  Rose Valley, who is originally from Tripura has dragged the name of Manik Sarkar into this entire controversy not by accusation but by association or atleast it seems so by his political opponents.

The Tripura CM Manik  Sarkar Government has been accused of granting half of the 33 hectares of land at subsidized rates while the other half was encroached from indigenous land holders. The CM at the inauguration of  Rose Valley theme park in 2008 had also praised it to be a boon for Agartala and the state. This is a serious dent in the much coveted "anti-corruption" image of the CM. The Trinamool and CPM might be at loggerheads for the quest and further dominion of power in West Bengal but fact remains that they are bedfellows in connection with this scam. It is believed that more than 60 million Indians — nearly one in every 20 people – have been victims of such unregulated schemes. These are typically targeted at Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities where unsuspecting investors, most of whom remain outside the banking system, are duped by the likes of Rose Valley with support from heavy political networking.

For TNT News

(With inputs from Indian Express, Hindustan Times)

(Image courtesy : Internet sources)