Firm linked to ex-CBI interim director Nageswara Rao’s wife raided in Kolkata

A day before Kolkata Police commissioner Rajeev Kumar's scheduled questioning by CBI sleuths, the city police on Friday conducted raids on two properties of a non-banking finance company, allegedly linked to the agency's former interim director Nageswara Rao's wife, a senior police officer said.

The raids were conducted in two offices of Angela Mercantiles Pvt Ltd — one in the city and the other in adjoining Salt Lake — as part of the city police's probe into an old complaint lodged at the Bowbazar Police Station, the officer said.

A team of around 30 police officers raided the two offices, allegedly linked to Rao's wife Mannem Sandhya, he said.

"There have been a series of transactions between the company and Mannem Sandhya. We are looking into the matter," the police officer said.

In a statement, Rao, who is currently the additional director of CBI, said, "I deny the linkage of this firm with my family members as reported by some media outlets today." "In light of certain reporting appearing in some media outlets, including some TV channels today linking my family members with a company on which Kolkata Police has carried out raids, I want to state that I had already clarified regarding this issue through a signed press statement on 30th October, 2018.

"Further, complete details of all property of my family and mine have already been submitted in my annual property return submitted to the government which are available on Ministry of Home Affairs' website," the statement said.

According to a Kolkata Police source, the owner of the company might be called for questioning on Saturday.