Arjun Singh's nephew arrested in bank fraud case worth Rs 12 cr

Kolkata: BJP MP Arjun Singh's nephew Sanjit Singh, alias Pappu, was arrested on Friday late night in connection with a fraud case worth Rs 12 crore of Bhatpara Naihati Cooperative Bank.

Police arrested him following a marathon interrogation in which they did not get any satisfactory answer from Sanjit.

A senior police officer said he did not turn up despite notice being served and summons being issued four times in connection with the fraud case. The police even went to Majdur Bhavan to get hold of him but faced restrictions. The accused, finally, turned up before the officers of Barrackpore Police Commissionerate.

Sources said a preliminary investigation revealed that Rs 11.60 crore of the scam was credited to Sanjit's bank account. Already five persons, including a senior official of the bank and Sanjit's confidential secretary, have been arrested in this connection and currently, they are in a correctional home.

BJP MP Arjun Singh was earlier the chairman of the bank. He was removed from the post a few days ago. It was alleged that a few crores of rupees of the bank were then siphoned off in the name of giving loans keeping in front some frivolous work of the Bhatpara Municipality for which tender was floated and a loan of around Rs 20 crore was sanctioned only after 26 files were signed. But, later, it was found that the amount was a whopping Rs 12 crore. Though the loan was sanctioned showing a work of the municipality, the investigation revealed that the money was allegedly transferred to the bank account of Sanjit that was later utilised for some other purpose.

Police have got hold of several documents in connection with the scam and suspect the involvement of some "influential people" as well.

Arjun Singh, who has been at loggerheads with the TMC government in the state, has termed the arrest 'vendetta politics'.

In a reply, senior TMC leader and minister Firhad Hakim said: "The allegations are completely baseless. If somebody has committed a crime, the law will take its course."