New Delhi: After examining IPS officer S.M.H. Mirza and some others over the Narada sting tape case, the CBI is again planning to examine certain Trinamul Congress leaders as part of its investigation.
Sources said several TMC leaders were allegedly seen accepting money in the footage, and “the agency may again call certain TMC leaders for a fresh round of questioning”. The CBI has so far questioned several people, including senior IPS officer S.M.H. Mirza, on June 6 and a number of Trinamul MLAs, MPs and state ministers.
The CBI had lodged an FIR on April 17, 2017 against 13 people, including several ministers, TMC MPs and Mr Mirza a month after the Calcutta high court asked it to conduct a preliminary enquiry in the Narada sting footage case. The Narada sting tapes, which were released to different news organisations before the 2016 Assembly elections in West Bengal, showed people resembling senior TMC leaders receiving money allegedly for future favours. The video showed the TMC leaders and the police officer allegedly taking bribes of around Rs 73 lakhs from the fake consultancy firm, with Rs 4 lakhs to Rs 5 lakhs used in each transaction.
The case was registered by the CBI on the completion of the preliminary enquiry (PE) by the agency. The PE was registered on the directions of a division bench of the Calcutta high court on March 17 and directed the CBI to submit its report within 72 hours. The TMC had appealed to the Supreme Court challenging the high court order, but the Supreme Court refused to interfere with the order, but extended the deadline for the preliminary probe to one month.
