FILE: Suspended Trinamool MP Kunal Ghosh, jailed in the Saradha chit fund scam (Press Trust of India photo)

Suspended Trinamool MP Kunal Ghosh, an accused in the Saradha chit fund scam, attempted suicide late last night, say the police. He has been in Kolkata's Presidency Jail since he was arrested in November last year.The police say Mr Ghosh took over 50 sleeping pills and then informed jail officials at around 2 am late on Thursday night that he had taken them. His stomach has reportedly been washed and he is out of danger.Mr Ghosh was the chief of the Saradha Group's media operations.On Monday, he had threatened in court that he will take his own life if the "real culprits" behind the scam are not arrested."The investigation is being influenced. It is not acceptable that I will rot in jail while those involved roam free. I am giving three days; if action is not taken I will commit suicide," Mr Ghosh had said.Mr Ghosh was the only Trinamool leader who was named in the Central Bureau of Investigation's first charge sheet in the Saradha case, which is being investigated in Bengal and Odisha.

The Saradha Group operated a Ponzi scheme offering massive returns of 40 per cent and more until it collapsed last year, leaving lakhs of small investors bankrupt in West Bengal and Odisha. The collapse triggered huge protests; three investors committed suicide.The Supreme Court had in July ordered the CBI to probe "the involvement of higher-ups including politicians and aspects of money laundering."