Businessman in Mamata Banerjee's entourage held in fraud case

Kolkata: Businessman and film producer Shibaji Panja, who accompanied Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on her three-day Bangladesh visit, was detained at the airport here by a Delhi Police team in connection with a fraud case.

He was detained by the immigration at the NSC Bose International Airport shortly after Banerjee, along with the entourage, a senior official of the Bidhan Nagar Commissionerate said.

Panja had allegedly taken a Rs 18 crore loan from Industrial Financial Corporation, a government organisation which lends short term loans to firms, after submitting some fake documents.

A case of fraud was registered in this regard with the Economic Offences Wing of the Delhi Police.

"Four days ago a look out notice was issued for Panja at all the airports. Our investigating officer will now go to Kolkatta and then he will be formally arrested and brought to Delhi for questioning," DCP (EOW) B K Singh told PTI.

Panja, who co-produced the detective film 'Byomkesh Bakshi' in 2010, had left for Dhaka along with the Chief Minister on February 19.