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ED sends notices to 5 TMC leaders in Narada case, summons suspended IPS officer
The TMC leaders are Lok Sabha members Saugata Roy and Kakali Ghosh Dastidar, former Lok Sabha member Aparupa Poddar, minister Suvendu Adhikari and TMC leader Ratna Chatterjee who is the wife of former Kolkata mayor Sovon Chatterjee who is also an accused in this case.
The Enforcement Directorate in Kolkata on Monday sent notices to five senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders and summoned a suspended Indian Police Service officer in connection with the 2016 Narada sting operation case.
An ED official said on condition of anonymity that the leaders have been asked to furnish details of property owned by their families. The case is also being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The TMC leaders are Lok Sabha members Saugata Roy and Kakali Ghosh Dastidar, former Lok Sabha member Aparupa Poddar, minister Suvendu Adhikari and TMC leader Ratna Chatterjee who is the wife of former Kolkata mayor Sovon Chatterjee who is also an accused in this case.
The suspended IPS officer is Saiyaad Mustafa Hussain Mirza.
Saugata Roy and Suvendu Adhikari said they would give their reply to the ED once they receive the notice. The other three leaders were not available for comments.
Interestingly, the TMC state leadership on Monday evening relieved Ratna Chatterjee of several responsibilities which led to speculations that her husband, with whom she has an estranged relationship may return to the TMC. Sovon Chatterjee officially joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in August 2019, but has not taken part in any activity in the party.
The controversy erupted in March 2016 after Narada News portal uploaded a series of videos purportedly showing a number of high-profile TMC leaders receiving money in exchange for favours to a fictitious company.
Narada was a poll issue during the 2016 assembly polls but the TMC managed to retain power despite a strong anti-corruption campaign by the BJP, Congress and the Left.
The CBI filed an FIR in the Narada case on March 16, 2017 acting on a Calcutta high court order which was upheld by the Supreme Court. The CBI and ED probed bank transactions and wire transfers.
The CBI also registered FIR against then TMC Rajya Sabha MP Mukul Roy who later joined the BJP and became the opposition party’s election strategist in Bengal.
Other senior TMC leaders named in the CBI’s FIR are lawmaker Sultan Ahmed, Lok Sabha member Prasun Banerjee, urban development minister Firhad Hakim and panchayat and rural development minister Subrata Mukherjee.
Former minister Madan Mitra and legislator Iqbal Ahmed, who later died, were also named as accused under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Mirza was posted as superintendent of police in Burdwan district during the sting operation.
