CBI Arrests Chit Fund Executive in Tripura

Agartala, Jan 15 (IANS) An executive of a chit fund has been arrested in Tripura by the CBI for allegedly collecting deposits of more than Rs.10 crore, an official said here Thursday.

This is the first arrest in the state by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the multi-crore rupee chit fund scam.

"The CBI Wednesday arrested Subhendu Deb Choudhury, director of Cosmic Negotiator Limited (CNL) and the agency officials have been interrogating him at the west Agartala police station," said an official of the Tripura government.

He said: "The CNL started its operations in Tripura 2005 and collected deposits of over Rs.10 crore before closing down their offices in 2010."

The official said the CBI has been looking for company chief Sanjit Chakraborty, who has been absconding.

Both Choudhury and Chakraborty are residents of Hailakandi in Assam. The CNL's head office is in Shillong and registered office in Kolkata.

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The Tripura government in 2013 has referred 37 cases to the department of personnel and training of the central government to be probed by the CBI, but the agency has taken up only five cases, including the case relating to the CNL.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sakar in a letter to former prime minister Manmohan Singh last year had urged to direct the CBI to probe the activities of chit fund companies and unauthorised collection of funds in the state.