Shrikant Mohta, co-founder of Shree Venkatesh Films Entertainment Pvt Ltd, one of the biggest and most powerful productions companies in the eastern region, was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation on January 24 in connection with the Rose Valley Group’s multi-crore deposit collection scam.
Mohta was charged under Sections 420 (cheating), 409 (criminal breach of trust) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. He had allegedly taken around Rs.24 crore from Rose Valley Group chairman Gautam Kundu, now in jail, to produce a film. But that film was never made.
“Investigation has revealed that in pursuance of criminal conspiracy with the said group of companies, the accused allegedly misappropriated Rs.24 crore (approx) in the name of producing films and siphoned off this money illegally collected by the said Ponzi scheme company from the residents of West Bengal, Assam, Odisha and elsewhere,” the CBI said in a press statement. The Central investigating agency had issued summons to Shrikant Mohta a number of times, but the producer had ignored them. Finally, on January 24 CBI officially picked him up from his office in Kolkata, questioned him and then arrested him.
Shrikant Mohta’s arrest is likely to cause considerable discomfort to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress; it is a well-known fact that he was very close to the ruling party. The party is viewing this arrest as political vendetta. Soon after the arrest, Trinamool secretary general Partha Chatterjee said, “The attacks are taking place on every sphere of society, from films to politics…. The BJP has turned the agencies into its slaves.”
In February 2017, two Trinamool Lok Sabha MPs, the party heavyweight and Mamata’s trusted lieutenant Sudip Bandopadhyay and the popular matinee idol Tapas Paul, were arrested by the CBI for their alleged links with the Rose Valley Group. Sudip also allegedly had links with the Saradha Group, whose multi-crore deposit collection scam had ruined thousands of investors, particularly those from the poorer sections of society.
The latest arrest has also given the opposition a fresh handle to attack the Mamata Banerjee government with. West Bengal Pradesh Congress president Somen Mitra said, “He [Mohta] claimed to be very close to Mamata Banerjee. Now she should come forward to defend him.”
Sujan Chakraborty of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), targeting Mamata Banerjee, quipped, “Could you not leave out the film industry at least.”The Rose Valley Group had apparently collected around Rs.17,000 crore illegally from the general public after enticing them with promises of very high rates of interest.
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