The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday arrested Bengali film producer Shrikant Mohta in connection with the Rose Valley money laundering scam, reported The Indian Express.
Mohta is the co-founder of Shree Venkatesh Films, which has produced over 120 films, including Chokher Bali and Memories in March.
CBI officials had arrived at the office of Shree Venkatesh Films in Kolkata earlier on Thursday, but employees of the company stopped them from entering the office as the CBI was not accompanied by local police. Officers from the Kasba police station later arrived at the scene and the CBI team entered the office.
CBI officials interrogated Mohta at his office first and then took him to the agency’s office in Salt Lake where he was arrested, reported NDTV. Mohta is likely to be taken to Bhubaneswar on Thursday and produced before a court on Friday, according to ANI.
The CBI has accused Rose Valley chairman Gautam Kundu and three others of defrauding investors from across the country of over Rs 17,000 crore. In its chargesheet, which was filed in January 2016, the investigative agency said it was still looking into the role of “influential people”. At the time, the agency was also examining money trails, the role of regulatory authorities and the larger conspiracy to cheat the public of their money.
In October, the Enforcement Directorate, which is also investigating the case, had summoned Trinamool Congress parliamentarians Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Tapas Paul.
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