Kolkata, April 7 (IANS): Accusing the Manik Sarkar government in Tripura of "shielding" and "benefitting" from Rose Valley, a ponzi firm under scanner for money laundering, the opposition Congress on Monday demanded a CBI probe into the activities of all illegal non-banking financial firms and chit fund groups in the state.

Addressing a press conference here, Leader of Opposition in the Tripura assembly Sudip Roy Burman said Sarkar and his ministers have encouraged people to invest in ponzi schemes of Rose Valley, whose chairman Gautam Kundu is in custody for alleged money laundering.

"The Tripura chief minister and other ministers have been present at functions of the Rose Valley Group and various other chit fund companies. Their praise for the company encouraged people to invest in such schemes. What prompted the chief minister to speak in favour of Rose Valley?" asked Burman.

While the government had written to the CBI for probing the chit fund scam, Burman claimed it "deliberately did not specify the amount of money involved in the scam while writing to the CBI to probe the Rose Valley Group in 2013, only to ensure that it was not investigated".

"We demand a CBI probe into the activities of all illegal non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and chit fund organisations in Tripura," said Burman alleging that chit fund companies flourished whenever the Left Front was in power in the state.

"Democracy is being throttled in Tripura and it is a one-man show there," he added.

Sarkar, a Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) politburo member, had earlier denied his government's involvement in the Rose Valley group after Burman published photographs of the Marxist leader attending an event of the company.