The West Bengal Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Friday produced Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee’s aide Sumit Roy before a court in Paschim Medinipur district in connection with an alleged illegal government land sale in Salboni. The agency is expected to seek Roy’s custody for further questioning in the case, officials said.
Roy was taken to the Medinipur court after undergoing a medical examination at the state-run SSKM Hospital in Kolkata earlier in the day. Police deployed a large number of personnel around the court premises, located about 130 km from Kolkata, ahead of his production.
The CID arrested Roy on Thursday, shortly after the Supreme Court refused to extend his protection from arrest in the case. The matter concerns allegations that government land in Salboni was illegally converted and sold using forged documents.
The Supreme Court had earlier directed Roy to cooperate with the investigation. The state government subsequently alleged that he had not adequately assisted the probe. The court then vacated the interim protection from arrest and declined to grant him further relief, according to the report.
Roy was arrested from a Trinamool Congress office-cum-residence at 121 Kalighat Road in south Kolkata, a premises associated with Abhishek Banerjee, the party’s national general secretary. The CID had searched the premises in June while looking for Roy and had summoned him several times during the investigation.
The case also involves former Trinamool Congress MLA Sujoy Hazra, who was arrested earlier. Investigators subsequently traced financial transactions allegedly linked to the case to Roy after questioning Hazra, sources had said. The allegations have not been established in court.
The investigation has led to a political confrontation in West Bengal. Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari and other Bharatiya Janata Party leaders have criticised Banerjee over Roy’s alleged role in the case. Adhikari, while announcing the arrest in the state Assembly, described Roy as an “extortionist”. Union minister Sukanta Majumdar and BJP MLA Sajal Ghosh also alleged that the investigation could eventually reach the Trinamool Congress leadership.
The Trinamool Congress has rejected the political allegations, accusing the BJP government of pursuing “revenge politics”. The party also questioned the timing of Roy’s arrest and alleged that it was intended to target Banerjee, who was abroad for medical treatment with the Supreme Court’s permission.
The immediate legal question is whether the court grants the CID custody sought by the agency. Further proceedings will determine how investigators pursue the alleged land transactions and the documents cited in the case.
