Kolkata police-CBI showdown: Detained sleuths released, Mamata stages Dharna

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], Feb 3 (ANI): A full-blown face-off between West Bengal's Mamata Banerjee government and the Centre erupted on Sunday as a CBI team moved to arrest the top cop of state police, which in turn detained five officials causing a high voltage drama.
Escalating her confrontation with the Centre, Banerjee also started a sit-in to protest, in what her Trinamool Congress party called a "coup" by the Modi government.
Banerjee was seen sitting on her 'Save the Constitution' dharna at Metro Channel in Kolkata, in which city Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar was also present.
The CBI interim chief also alleged that there was proof against Rajeev Kumar that he hampered evidence in the chit fund scam.
CBI interim Director Nageswara Rao told ANI, "We are contacting our senior law officers about the Kolkata incident. Whatever they suggest will be followed. We are investigating these chit fund cases as per the directions of the Supreme Court. A SIT has been constituted by the West Bengal government prior to Supreme Court's direction under the chairmanship of Rajeev Kumar, who is currently the Kolkata police commissioner."
"They have taken charge of all the evidence, seized all the documents. They have not been cooperating with us in handing over all the documents and a lot of evidence has been destroyed or caused to disappear," he added.
All the five CBI officers who were detained by police at Shakespeare Sarani police station in Kolkata have been released.
Unprecedented scenes were witnessed here when the CBI team came to arrest Rajeev Kumar at his residence in connection with Saradha Chit fund scam and were not allowed to enter the residence.
Rajeev Kumar, a 1989-batch IPS officer of West Bengal cadre was heading a SIT on the Saradha and Rose Valley scams. The CBI wanted the top officer to hand over the seizure list made during his probe, sources said.
Reportedly, the top cop was to be questioned regarding missing documents and files but he is not responding to notices to appear before the agency.
Rajeev Kumar, according to media reports, became apprehensive of his arrest after Bengali film producer Shrikant Mohita was taken into custody.
Police force of Bidhannagar police left from outside the CBI regional office at CGO Complex in Kolkata, following which Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) units arrived at the spot.
"We have been called for security outside CBI office. This much information we got," CRPF officer Ashok Kumar told reporters.
Praveen Tripathi, Joint Commissioner Crime, Kolkata Police said that CBI officers came into the residence without any valid documents and could not give a satisfactory response for what they called a "secret operation."
"A team of CBI officers came without any papers for what they called a 'secret operation'. When asked what the operation was about, they could not give a satisfactory response," Tripathi told reporters.
In response, the CBI said that they did not get any support from West Bengal police and were unnecessarily detained.
"We had enough and relevant documents we are a professional institution we did not get any support from state police we are unnecessary detained," the central investigative agency said. (ANI)