Duped depositors protest in Kolkata
Debjani Mukhopadhyay, who has reportedly been arrested in Kashmir along with West Bengal businessman on the run Sudipta Sen yesterday, is a director in the Saradha group, whose chit fund went bust last week leaving lakhs of depositors and fund collection agents in the lurch.
Only five years ago, Ms Mukhopadhyay joined Saradha's travel company as a secretary. Her rise in the group thereafter was meteoric. And as shrouded in mystery as is her boss, Sudipta Sen, whose past includes a rumoured plastic surgery and who allegedly has two or three or four wives depending on who is telling the story. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said yesterday that she had heard Mr Sen had three wives.
Ms Mukhopadhyay is said to be single, in her late twenties or early thirties, strikingly good looking and little is known about her relationship with Mr Sen.
Those in the know say she is the woman behind Sudipta Sen's throne, his virtual second-in-command in the Saradha group. Access to the elusive Mr Sen was reportedly screened by Ms Mukhopadhyay, who also had a seat in his chambers.
An aspiring airhostess, Debjani trained to be one, but never flew. She was reportedly spotted by Sudipta Sen a few months after she joined Saradha Tours and Travels as a secretary in 2007. She was soon a director in the company.
Rumour has it that Mr Sen had recently gifted his executive director an apartment worth 80 lakh rupees.
Ms Mukopadhyay went missing a few weeks ago. Last week, Sudipta Sen did too as Saradha offices across West Bengal began to shut down and the company's cheques began to bounce.
Yesterday, three people answering to the description of Mr Sen, Ms Mukhopadhyay and another Saradha director were detained in a hotel in Sonmarg, J&K.