Bengal ration distribution case: Actress Rituparna Sengupta joins ED probe

Kolkata: Popular Bengali film actress Rituparna Sengupta on Wednesday joined the ED probe in the ration distribution case.

She arrived at the ED office at around 1 p.m. However, her accountant reached the central agency office over an hour before her arrival with files.

On May 30, ED issued the first notice to Sengupta asking her to be present for interrogation on June 5. However, at that time the actress skipped the appearance on grounds that she was abroad then.

Subsequently, on June 6, she was served another notice by the ED, asking her to be present at the central agency office on Wednesday. This time, she honoured the notice and personally appeared at the ED office.

Sources said the accountant of the actress, who arrived at the office of ED before her, had claimed before the central agency that he was responsible for managing all the account-related work of Sengupta and would explain the details of the account in a much better manner.

Sources said that the name of Sengupta surfaced while the central agency officials were examining the documents related to an accused corporate in the ration distribution case. She will be asked to clarify her links with certain transactions that surfaced during the probe.

This is not the first time that Sengupta has been summoned by ED. In 2019, she was summoned by the ED in connection with the multi-crore Rose Valley chit fund scam in West Bengal.

She was summoned then for her involvement in some of the entertainment projects, including films, promoted by the Rose Valley Group. It was alleged that the films were produced using the money laundered by the Rose Valley Group through its various marketing schemes promising the investors lucrative returns.