Kolkata editor arrested in ponzi scam released on bail

Shubhadeep Choudhury                                                                                          
Tribune News Service
Kolkata, July 22

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Kolkata editor Suman Chattopadhyay was released from prison in Bhubaneswar after over 1.5 years after his arrest over allegations of being involved in a ponzi scam.

The Supreme Court ordered his release on bail on medical grounds.

Chattopadhyay (64) was arrested by the CBI in Kolkata on December 20, 2018.

A chargesheet was filed by CBI within four months of his arrest, but the lower court kept refusing bail to the high-profile journalist.

Chattopadhyay, a former director of Disha Productions and Media Private Ltd, the company that owned Bengali magazine Disha and Bengali newspaper Ek Din, was the editor of Ei Samay, a newspaper of the Times Group, when he was arrested.

According to the CBI, Chattopadhyay received money from a suspected Ponzi scam operator, I-Core group, in his and his company’s bank accounts. Investigators believe I-Core group, which allegedly raised over Rs 3,000 crore by misleading investors, diverted chunks of the funds through Chattopadhyay’s company.

Chattopadhyay has been known to be close to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as well as some senior Congress leaders.