The Medinipur district court on Friday ordered eight days of CID custody for Sumit Roy, an aide to Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee, in the Salboni land corruption case in West Bengal. The court directed that Roy be produced again on September 19 after the Criminal Investigation Department sought his custody for questioning.
Roy was brought to the court in a CID vehicle at around 11.30 am and was initially kept in the court lock-up. During the hearing, the CID requested eight days of custody. Roy’s lawyer did not seek bail, while assistant public prosecutor Nazim Habib told reporters that the judge had granted the investigation agency’s request.
The court also directed the authorities to provide the name of the lawyer who would be present during Roy’s interrogation. The CID has told the court that Roy’s questioning is necessary in connection with the investigation and that it plans to submit a supplementary chargesheet in the case.
The custody order came a day after the Supreme Court cancelled Roy’s interim protection from arrest and rejected his anticipatory bail plea, according to the report. The CID subsequently arrested him at a residence in Kolkata’s Kalighat area. The agency has alleged that Roy did not cooperate with the investigation and repeatedly avoided answering questions during questioning. These allegations have not been established by a final court finding.
CID officials took Roy first to Bhabanipur, according to the report, and then to SSKM Hospital for a medical examination. A police team led by Additional Superintendent of Police Uttam Ghosh inspected the area around the Medinipur court before Roy was produced there. The report said a large police contingent accompanied the CID team during the arrest operation.
The Salboni case concerns alleged irregularities linked to land transactions. Former Trinamool Congress legislator Sujoy Hazra was previously arrested in the case. The CID has already filed a 14-page chargesheet naming four people, including Hazra, but Roy’s name does not appear in that document. The agency may seek to include him in a supplementary chargesheet, subject to the outcome of the investigation and further court proceedings.
The next scheduled development in the case is Roy’s production before the court on September 19. The investigation agency’s request for custody and its proposed supplementary chargesheet will remain subject to judicial scrutiny.
