Debjani Mukopadhyay (file pic)
Kolkata:
Was Debjani Mukopadhyay, who was arrested in Kashmir along with Sudipta Sen, a willing accomplice or under duress as she fled across the country with her boss, the man behind the chit fund that collapsed last week wiping out the savings of lakhs of depositors in West Bengal?
Ms Mukhopadhyay's family says she was all set to resign as executive director of the Saradha group; her lawyers say she had already submitted her resignation. On April 9, she was reportedly summoned to Delhi by her boss for a board meeting. Mr Sen is the chairman cum managing director of the Saradha group that ran the chit fund.
The police say Debjani, described to be in her late 20s or early 30s, left Kolkata with Mr Sen in his SUV and drove to Ranchi in Jharkhand on April 10. But her lawyers say she flew to Delhi to join him for a meeting.
On the evening of Monday, April 22, her lawyer Abhishek Mukherjee claims, Ms Mukhopadhyay called him from an unknown number, weeping. "She said she was using a hotel waiter's phone and that she wanted to surrender," he said.
That same evening, the Jammu and Kashmir police detained Mr Sen, Debjani and another director of the firm from a hotel near Srinagar. The West Bengal police, which had been tracking their cross-country drive across several states, had requested the J&K police to apprehend the run-away Saradha executives. (Read: How they were caught)
Debjani's family claims that they last heard from her on April 10. They say Ms Mukhopadhyay had not been paid salary for the last five to six months, and that she was even paying monthly installments from her salary for the one Maruti Swift car she owned.
The family's description of Debjani's professional situation is at odds with the way she is described by those who saw her at the Saradha offices. Ms Mukhopadhyay, who joined the group as a receptionist just five years ago, is described as the woman behind Sudipta Sen's business empire and his number 2. Little is known about her relationship with Sen, but she reportedly had a seat in his chambers and screened access to the elusive businessman. (Read: How Saradha duped its investors)
Debjani's cousin, however, said though she was designated executive director, "she was an ordinary employee. Sudipta told her to sit next to him in public functions." The cousin said they did not know where the money for the posh apartment that they live in in Kolkata came from. "I think it is a gift," she said.
Sudipta Sen is rumoured to have gifted Ms Mukhopadhyay an apartment worth about Rs 80 lakh.
Ms Mukhopadhyay's family says she was all set to resign as executive director of the Saradha group; her lawyers say she had already submitted her resignation. On April 9, she was reportedly summoned to Delhi by her boss for a board meeting. Mr Sen is the chairman cum managing director of the Saradha group that ran the chit fund.
The police say Debjani, described to be in her late 20s or early 30s, left Kolkata with Mr Sen in his SUV and drove to Ranchi in Jharkhand on April 10. But her lawyers say she flew to Delhi to join him for a meeting.
On the evening of Monday, April 22, her lawyer Abhishek Mukherjee claims, Ms Mukhopadhyay called him from an unknown number, weeping. "She said she was using a hotel waiter's phone and that she wanted to surrender," he said.
That same evening, the Jammu and Kashmir police detained Mr Sen, Debjani and another director of the firm from a hotel near Srinagar. The West Bengal police, which had been tracking their cross-country drive across several states, had requested the J&K police to apprehend the run-away Saradha executives. (Read: How they were caught)
Debjani's family claims that they last heard from her on April 10. They say Ms Mukhopadhyay had not been paid salary for the last five to six months, and that she was even paying monthly installments from her salary for the one Maruti Swift car she owned.
The family's description of Debjani's professional situation is at odds with the way she is described by those who saw her at the Saradha offices. Ms Mukhopadhyay, who joined the group as a receptionist just five years ago, is described as the woman behind Sudipta Sen's business empire and his number 2. Little is known about her relationship with Sen, but she reportedly had a seat in his chambers and screened access to the elusive businessman. (Read: How Saradha duped its investors)
Debjani's cousin, however, said though she was designated executive director, "she was an ordinary employee. Sudipta told her to sit next to him in public functions." The cousin said they did not know where the money for the posh apartment that they live in in Kolkata came from. "I think it is a gift," she said.
Sudipta Sen is rumoured to have gifted Ms Mukhopadhyay an apartment worth about Rs 80 lakh.
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