Saradha Group chairman Sudipto Sen was sentenced to three years’ rigorous imprisonment by a Bidhannagar court on Friday in a provident fund default case. This is his first conviction in a slew of cases involving a multi-crore chit fund scam.
A Bidhannagar sub-divisional court magistrate convicted and sentenced Sen to three years’ rigorous imprisonment and a fine of ₹10,000.
Sen, whose Saradha Group is accused of running Ponzi schemes under different names, would have to undergo another six months’ imprisonment if the fine is not paid, the court directed.
He was convicted under Section 406 (criminal breach of trust) for not depositing the provident fund of employees, an offence Sen confessed to before the court. He was also sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for ’conspiracy’ under Section 120B of the IPC in connection with the PF default.
Both the terms will run continue concurrently and the number of days he has already undergone imprisonment since his arrest in April 2013 will be deducted from his prison term.
Several hundred cases are still pending against Sen, who has been accused of duping lakhs of depositors in West Bengal and other States.