The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday provided anticipatory bail to former Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar in connection with the Saradha chit fund case, ABP Ananda reported. The court agreed to Kumar’s plea but said he would have to cooperate with the Central Bureau of Investigation, which is conducting inquiries in the case.

The High Court ruled that the case was not suited for “custodial interrogation” and asked the investigating agency to give Kumar 48-hour notice before summoning him for questioning. If the former police commissioner is arrested, he can receive bail immediately after paying a security bond of Rs 50,000, according to NDTV. The police officer has failed to appear before investigators despite being issued multiple summons.

On September 20, Kumar had filed the anticipatory bail application in the Alipore district and sessions court, a day after another court in the city said the CBI had complete right to arrest him.

Kumar, who is the current additional director general in the state Crime Investigation Department, is accused of tampering with crucial evidence in the chit fund case. He led the Special Investigation Team set up by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to investigate the scam before the Supreme Court handed over the case to the CBI in 2014.

The central agency wants to interrogate him as he reportedly gave evasive replies during questioning in Shillong in February. The Saradha company ran several ponzi schemes in the state and allegedly defrauded lakhs of people. Thousands of crores of rupees were lost after the scheme collapsed in 2013. Its promoter Sudipta Sen was arrested the same year.

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