Chit fund scam: Second FIR filed against TMC MP Kunal Ghosh

A second FIR has been filed against Trinamool Congress MP Kunal Ghosh by employees of a closed Bengali daily owned by the Saradha group for non-payment of salaries and Ghosh offered to resign from the Rajya Sabha if probe shows his complicity in the chit fund scam.

Police sources said the employees of the newspaper 'Sakalbela' filed the FIR against Ghosh on Friday night at Bhawanipore police station for non-payment of their salaries.

A similar FIR was filed at the Park Street police station against Ghosh, Saradha group chairman Sudipta Sen and six others by 21 employees of television channel, Channel 10, run by the group, for non-payment of their salaries and for not depositing their provident fund dues.

Ghosh has, in a six-page letter to party chief Mamata Banerjee which was upploaded on Trinamool Congress website on Friday night, said he was ready to face and co-operate with any investigation.

"I am not connected with the Saradha's money market activities. I am ready to resign as a Rajya Sabha member if investigation revealed (complicity in the scam)," he said.

Ghosh said he had joined the media unit of the Saradha group before joining TMC.

Meanwhile, Left Front chairman Biman Bose said Ghose, as the Saradha group media CEO, could not evade responsibility.

"Now under pressure Ghose is saying that he was an ordinary employee but an ordinary employee doesn't get Rs 15 lakh as salary (per month)," Bose, a CPM politburo member, said.

The TMC MP had claimed he was only an employee with responsibility for editorial content of the channel. "I was not the owner. Finance and accounts were not under me. I did not have cheque signing authority. Attempts are being made to tarnish my image," Ghosh said.

He said Sudipta Sen, the Saradha group chairman, was the owner of Channel 10