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Now Tripura based Military Intelliegence officer in Saradha glare
TIWN Exclusive
Now Tripura based Military Intelliegence officer in Saradha glare
PHOTO : Sudipta Sen is being taken to court. File Photo

KOLKATA / AGARTALA, September 11 (TIWN):After former Bengal police DG Rajat Majumder's arrest in the infamous Saradha scam, investigators have spread their net trying to find out about the possible involvement of a military intelligence official earlier based in Tripura with Saradha supremo Sudipta Sen.In a tell-all letter to the CBI just before his arrest last year, Sen had named one 'Colonel Sur Kumar' and said he had paid him 'a few lakhs' on the prodding of former CNN-IBN journalit Suman Kalyan Chakrabarti. Sen named Chakrabarti as 'having looted me ' and claimed Chakrabarti had taken Rs 1 crore from him , ostensibly to start a Northeast specific TV channel from Delhi. Srikumar, who was awarded Chief Ministers Medal in Tripura for his exceptional counter-insurgency effort , now stands accused of abduction and murder in a case filed by a Manipuri man, who says his son and two of his friends were abducted by Sriklumar's unit and killed in cold blood at the headquarters of the 3rd Indian army corps at Rangapahar.

Apparently no activity to launch a channel like that was noticed by anyone in the Saradha Media group whose chief Kunal Ghose has now told investigators he was not aware of any such move by Sen at any point.

Chakrabarti was known to be close to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerji and had done several interviews with her for the CNN-IBN . 

Saradha insiders said Sen was trying to balance Ghosh with Chakrabarti and therefore heeded most of his requests.

Lt Colonel G Srikumar of Military Intelligence , a close friend of Chakrabarti, had threatened to sue one of Sen's publication, Seven Sisters Post , after the Guwahati based English daily had reported on Srikumar's unit robbing military contractor Pona Gogoi in Jorhat of money and material late in 2012.

Under Assam police's insistence, 3rd Corps based in Rangapahar (Nagaland) had to give permission to investigate the robbery.

Srikumar , who claimed he was absent during the robbery, denied any involvement and had threatened to sue Seven Sisters Post.

The Saradha chief Sudipto Sen asked Chakrabarti to 'patch up ' with Srikumar.

Saradha insiders say Sen paid Chakrabarti a substantial sum of money to 'settle' with Srikumar .

The payment was indeed made because Srikumar did not pursue his legal notice served against Seven Sisters Post and dropped the proceedings.

Seven Sisters Post even carried a notice issued in the paper prominently absolving Srikumar of any involvement in the Jorhat robbery and blaming its former editor for the report. 

Saradha sources in the Northeast say Suman Kalyan Chakrabarti collected Rs 25 lakhs for payment to Lt Col Srikumar .

" But we dont know how much was paid to the military official but some payment must have been made because he did not pursue the case against us," said a former Saradha Realty employee .

The Manipuri man had sought prosecution against the current Indian army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag but the High Court disallowed it on grounds of absence of direct involvement.

But it allowed prosecution of Lt. Col Srikumar .

Srikumar is also recepient of Sena Medal, one of the highest peace time decorations for military personnel.

He received both the decorations for his operations in Tripura .

Later the army gave him charge of one of its secret operational unit for whole of Northeast.

It was called Corps of Intensive Surveillance (CIS) modelled on the old Russian Spetnatz where the intelligence unit is responsible not only for gathering intelligence but also for action on it .

The CIS was responsible for 'neutralising' many known insurgents in northeast India when it was led by Srikumar but some innocents were also hit.

And that has brought the unit under a cloud.

General V K Singh, who was army chief during the Jorhat robbery case involving this unit, not only allowed police investigations into it but also put a ban on Dalbir Singh's future promotion to higher command on grounds of failure to 'exercise appropiate command and control during a sensitive operation'.

But Singh's successor General Bikram Singh overruled the ban and promoted Dalbir Singh to army commander (East) and then to vice chief .

Despite V K Singh's opposition, the BJP government made Dalbir Singh the army chief.

V K Singh is now a BJP minister in charge of Northeastern affairs and a minister of state in the external affairs ministry.

 

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