Rose Valley: Ahead of tenth edition of IPL, CBI to probe KKR's connection

Ahead of the tenth edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) in April, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will probe the alleged connection of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) – an IPL franchise – in the Rose Valley chit fund case.

Rose Valley was one of the prime sponsors of KKR. The investigating agency suspected that Rose Valley owner Gautam Kundu was present at several meetings with KKR officials. He reportedly met an influential person before finalising the deal.

The investigators found some important documents revealing the connection between Rose Valley and KKR.

Kundu will be quizzed by investigators on his alleged connection with the city's IPL franchise. "It seems Rose Valley had a financial deal with KKR. We are presently checking out the deal. We suspected some abnormality in the deal," said a CBI source.

CBI officers recently arrested Trinamool Congress MP from Nadia's Krishnanagar and former actor Tapas Paul, along with the party's leader in Lok Sabha Sudip Bandyopadhyay – who is the MP from Kolkata Uttar – on the charge of their alleged involvement in Rose Valley Chit Fund case.

The investigating agency has turned its focus back on the ponzi scams in Bengal, in 2013-14.

Both MPs were arrested by the CBI after a period of interrogation. They were arrested at Bidhannagar's CGO Complex – in CBI's regional office. Those chit funds allegedly brought several schemes to cheat small investors with the promise of extraordinary returns.

KKR is owned by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, actress Juhi Chawla and businessman Jay Mehta. The team is currently captained by Gautam Gambhir and coached by Jacques Kallis, a former player of the team.

According to a tweet by Venky Mysore, CEO - Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) & Red Chillies Entertainment that KKR is the only consistent IPL performer – both as brand and earning profits.

However, Mysore did not respond the telephone calls to talk on the ongoing controversial issue.