Bengal CID summons Rajya Sabha MP Ritabrata Banerjee for questioning
Namrata Dutta, the Bengaluru-based software professional from Balurghat, who lodged a complaint against Banerjee, gave confidential statement before a magistrate on October 11.
Criminal Investigation Department (CID), West Bengal has issued summons to expelled CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member, Ritabrata Banerjee over charges of rape on basis of a complaint filed by Namrata Dutta, a software engineer and his former girlfriend.
The case was referred to CID following a police complaint filed by Dutta at a police station in Balurghat in north Bengal on Tuesday.
Read: Woman who accused Ritabrata Banerjee of sexual exploitation, lodges complaint
“Acting on it, CID has issued summons to the MP on Wednesday asking him to be present at the CID headquarters at Kolkata on October 13 for questioning,” confirmed a senior police officer.
CID officers pasted the summons on the door of the MP’s south Kolkata residence at Garfa since he was not at home when they went to deliver the notice.
State government officials confirmed that Dutta underwent a medical test on Wednesday, following which the decision was taken to issue summons to Banerjee.
Read: CPI(M) justifies expulsion of RS MP Ritabrata Banerjee for ‘anti-communist’ role
Earlier Ritabrata Banerjee filed a complaint at Garfa police station alleging that Namrata Dutta had been blackmailing her and pressuring him to pay hefty amounts in return of not disclosing their physical relationships.
In her FIR filed on Tuesday, Dutta even alleged that the expelled CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member even went to the extent of threatening of dire consequences if she revealed their intimate adventures in public. Dutta even alleged that the MP even promised her money to the tune of Rs 50 lakhs if she kept the affairs under cover. Earlier she tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to her allegations on Twitter.
Banerjee, 38, sniffs a conspiracy to damage his political career.
In a statement on September 17, the CPI(M) politburo member and West Bengal state secretary Surya Kant Mishra said Banerjee was expelled for “anti-party and anti-communist role”.
The CPI(M) state committee is West Bengal received 19 complaints pertaining to sexual exploitation against Ritabrata. A three member probe committee was formed to investigate the allegations against him which including sexual exploitation, lavish lifestyle unbecoming of a communist MP and leaking party secrets outside. Finally, last month he was summarily expelled from the party.
In a counter allegation, the 38 year old MP accused the top leadership of CPI(M) acting in a biased manner against him.