CBI not yet through with Shanku

KOLKATA: The CBI has again summoned Trinamool party general-secretary Shankudeb Panda, who reportedly failed to plug the gaps in his statements during a three and-a-half-hour-long questioning on Wednesday.
Panda has to appear before the investigating agency , possibly on Friday , with documentary evidence that his association with the now-bust Saradha Group was completely in "professional capacity", only as a salaried individual.
The 33-year-old journalist-turned-politician's predicament appears to be similar to that of imprisoned Trinamool MP Kunal Ghosh, who had tried to convince the in vestigators that he was merely the chief executive officer of Saradha boss Sudipta Sen's Saradha media. Though Panda's role in the Saradha-owned Channel 10 and later, in the still-born media venture by artist Suvaprasanna was less in stature than that of Ghosh, CBI officers said he gained from the ill-gotten Saradha funds in the form of salary, incentives and bonuses. CBI sources claimed Panda--by then, he was the state TMCP president--earned around Rs 20 lakh from 2010 to 2012. Panda, however, denied to CBI interrogators about the amount.
"As he claimed he was me rely a salaried person emplo yed in a professional capaci ty with the group, we have as ked him to produce docu mentary evidence. Such statements have no evidenti al value unless corroborated by documents," said a senior officer. "A salaried person should have an offer letter or employment certificate, sa lary slips, details of salary being credited to bank acco unts--either ECS or cheque --and a bank statement to support all these things. He has been asked to appear be fore us this week with al the papers."
As he emerged out of the CBI's headquarters, Panda declined to comment.