Madan Mitra backs Narada sting probe

Kolkata: Former West Bengal minister and Saradha scam accused Madan Mitra on Sunday backed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee`s decision ordering a probe into the Narada sting operation in which several Trinamool Congress leaders were allegedly shown receiving wads of currency notes.

Alleging the sting to be "a provocation and conspiracy to create a hostile public reaction", Banerjee on Friday ordered the probe to be conduct by city Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar. The opposition, however, has dismissed the move as "farcical" and "aimed at shielding" her partymen.

"Known for taking the appropriate decisions, the chief minister has done the right thing by ordering the probe," said the former Transport Minister who was one of the several high profile Trinamool leaders caught in the alleged bribery scandal.

Mitra also took a jibe at the opposition parties for questioning the probe.

"All these days` people were questioning why a probe is not being ordered. And when that has been done, people are again questioning why a probe has been ordered," said Mitra, the only Trinamool leader allegedly caught in the Narada sting, to have lost the recent assembly polls.

Jailed in the multi-crore scam, Mitra on Sunday was discharged from the government-run SSKM Hospital and taken to the jail.

"Life itself is like a jail. I have been discharged from the hospital and now I am going back to jail," said Mitra who has spent a large part of his incarceration period at the hospital.

Indicted of criminal conspiracy among other offences, Mitra was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in December 2014.