CBI wants face to face interrogation, fresh summons issued to minister Suvendu Adhikari, BJP leader Shovan Chatterjee and journo Mathew Samuel
Kolkata, Sep 9 (UNI) The CBI probing the Narada sting operations case has freshly summoned Bengal minister Suvendu Adhikari, former Kolkata Mayor and now BJP leader Shovan Chatterjee and journo Mathew Samuel to appear on Wednesday (September 11) as the investigating agency wanted to have face to face interrogation and their voice recording in the alleged scam of money transfer against favour.
The CBI already recorded voice samples of some six accused persons of the 13 people named in the FIR in Narada sting operations case that came to light in 2016.
The central investigating agency has asked the trio- West Bengal's transport minister Suvendu Adhikari, Sovan Chatterjee, who joined the BJP recently and Narada News CEO Mathew Samuel to appear at Nizam Palace on Wednesday.
The minister and Mr Chatterjee had skipped several previous summons in recent times. Though the two and Mr Samuel had appeared several times before the CBI and Enforcement Directorate but the fresh summon is to have their voice sample recording, which was going on recently at the Nizam Palace.
The ED filed its case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after the CBI filed its case.
The sting operation pertains to the secret filming of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders and IPS officer SMH MIrza while they were allegedly accepting money from representatives of a fictitious company in return for extending favours to it.
TMC leaders against whom the CBI has registered cases, now also booked by the Enforcement Directorate, include Rajya Sabha MP Mukul Roy, Lok Sabha MPs Saugata Roy, Aparupa Poddar, Sultan Ahmed, Prasun Banerjee and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, West Bengal ministers, including Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim, Transport Minister Suvendu Adhikari, former Environment Minister Sovan Chatterjee, Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Minister Subrata Mukherjee. Former minister Madan Mitra, MLA Iqbal Ahmed have also been made accused in the case.
However, Sultan Ahmed has died.
Samuel had earlier released three sets of videos of the sting operation, where top TMC leaders were allegedly seen accepting bribes from journalists posing as businessmen.
The ruling party had dismissed the allegation citing that the tapes were ‘doctored’.
The sting operation video was released by the portal on March 14, 2016, just ahead of the West Bengal.
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