NEW DELHI/BHUBANESHWAR, Sept 21 � Nalini Chidamabaram, wife of former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, has been examined by the CBI in connection with the alleged multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam, reports PTI.
The CBI examined Nalini, a Supreme Court lawyer, yesterday evening in Chennai in connection with the legal fee paid to her by the Saradha Group, official sources said here.
The sources said Saradha chairman Sudipta Sen, at present in jail, had mentioned hiring Nalini as a lawyer at the request of Manoranjana Singh, estranged wife of Congress leader Matang Singh.
Sen, who had written a letter to the CBI last year, had claimed that Rs 1 crore had been paid to the lawyer as her legal fee by the Saradha Group.
Nalini represented Manoranjana and, therefore, was asked to offer her professional advice in her negotiations with Sen in connection with plans by the group to acquire a TV channel in the North East. The lawyer is believed to have advised her client against the Rs 42-crore investment by the group to acquire the TV channel.
Nalini has not responded to calls and messages for her reaction. Her team however, denied that she was questioned by the CBI. They claimed the CBI only obtained a 70-page report prepared by her in connection with the plans for the TV channel acquisition. �The near Rs 1 crore fee was for one year�s assistance. It was transparent and nominal,� sources close to Nalini said.
Meanwhile, the CBI today arrested two stock brokers for allegedly being involved in misappropriation of funds of scam-hit Artha Tatwa (AT) Group, a case which is a fallout of the Saradha chit fund scam.
Deepak Pareekh was arrested today in Odhisa by sleuths of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the CBI to probe the entire Saradha scam, agency sources said. The other stock broker arrested CBI was Dharmendra Bothra.
