ED raids offices of TV channel head close to Mamata Banerjee

• Image Credit: Google

• Aug 16, 2022 | Dhupali Das

An ED source confirmed the raid but refused to reveal why it was conducted...

Digital Desk: Two teams from the Income Tax (I-T) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) are conducting simultaneous raid and search operations at the residence and office of Kaustav Roy, a prominent Bengali news channel CEO and businessman based in Kolkata who is well-known for his close relationship with chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

An ED source confirmed the raid but refused to reveal why it was conducted. Meanwhile, several attempts to reach Roy for comment failed after calling him several times.

Roy was embroiled in controversy in May of this year after the state government constituted a committee for the planning and monitoring of welfare and development initiatives and appointed Roy, who has a questionable background, as chairman of the group.

However, his name was then removed after then-Governor Jagdeep Dhankar questioned Roy's selection for the crucial position.

Roy is involved in many sectors, including computers, software, and media.

He was detained by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in March 2018 while serving as the director of RP Infosystems in relation to a Rs 515 crore bank fraud case involving a group of institutions, including Punjab National Bank and Canara Bank.

The Bengali station owned by Roy was warned by the Union Ministry of Information & Broadcasting in September of last year that its license would be cancelled due to the Ministry of Home Affairs' denial of a "security clearance."