West Bengal Transport Minister, Madan Mitra, was today granted bail by a city court.

In judicial custody for nearly a year now (11 months), Mitra was arrested on December 12 last year, by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for his alleged complicity in the multi-crore Saradha Scam.

According to sources, the court granted “conditional bail” with the Minister being asked to furnish a bail bond worth Rs 2 lakh.

“It is a conditional bail. He has to deposit his passport and cooperate with CBI when the agency needs him. He cannot leave the State without the permission of the court,” Ashok Mukherjee, Mitra’s counsel said.

Incidentally, Mitra is the only senior functionary of the Trinamool Congress who was in jail for their alleged connection with the Saradha money collection scam.

Other party functionaries such as other political persons including former TMC MP Srinjoy Bose and TMC leader and former IPS Rajat Majumdar were granted bail earlier.

The other high profile arrest in the case – now suspended Trinamool Congress MP, Kunal Ghosh, is still in judicial custody. Ghosh was heading the now media ventures of the now defunct Saradha Group.

The Saradha Group was accused of illegally mobilising crores from depositors – across Bengal and the neighbouring States – through money collection and collective investment schemes. The Group went bust in April 2013 duping thousands of depositors. The Group Chairman, Sudipta Sen, arrested a later in April has since then been in jail.

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