Saradha Chit Fund Scam: CBI asks Bengal, Odisha government to share documents of scam before July 31

Kolkata: CBI has asked the state government of West Bengal and Odisha to share all documents related to the Saradha Chit Fund scam with them before July 31.

The CBI order comes after the Supreme Court ordered transfer of investigation of the scam from the special investigation team and the Bengal Police to the CBI in May earlier this year.

The apex court had transferred the probe to the CBI on the following grounds:

- The volume of scam was too big and went beyond the boundary of Bengal into adjacent states like Assam, Tripura and Odisha.

- Names of several influential political personalities in Bengal were dragged into the scam and a state-appointed agency might not have been able to carry out a fair probe.

- Although the government had set up a commission to return money to smaller investors, the investigators failed to identify the larger chunk of money trail which may have been moved outside the country by hawala.

- The role of agencies like RBI and Sebi were called into question in respect of the scam.

While the Mamata Banerjee government had vehemently opposed a CBI probe on grounds that the scam masterminds were already in the police net, the other three states which were affected by the scam had agreed to it.