Former Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP KD Singh has been detained by Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday in New Delhi.
Singh had been summoned several times in connection with the Alchemist chit-fund case before he was finally detained.
He has been accused of money laundering and siphoning off Rs 200 crore from thousands of common citizens in the name of chit-fund. He has been arrested under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
After his stint at the upper house of Parliament with a ticket of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Singh had joined TMC. He was a TMC representative at the Rajya Sabha from 2014 to 2020.
During his time as a Trinamool lawmaker, Singh had established many businesses in West Bengal, including the Alchemist chit-fund. He has had investment in North Bengal’s tea gardens as well.
Reportedly, the Mamata Banerjee-led party has been maintaining distance with Singh ever since his business ran into problems. His stay at the Rajya Sabha was also not extended, as a result.
Meanwhile, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh has said that Singh’s arrest should have been done earlier. He has further accused TMC-turncoat and BJP vice president Mukul Roy of having a hand in Singh’s involvement with TMC.
The allegations, though, has been categorically denied by a close aide of Roy, reported Bengali portal The Wall.
“Mukul Roy was not the owner of TMC. In that individual-centric party, he did not have the supreme authority. Even if we agree that Mukul had brought Singh into TMC, who gave him the ticket to Rajya Sabha? Also, who used the helicopters of KD Singh’s company should be brought to light as well,” the online platform quoted the source as saying.
Interestingly, Singh’s name had appeared during the Narada case as well. He was believed to have funded the sting operation which had exposed several heavyweight TMC leaders taking cash, including Roy, who was the party’s second-in-command then.