Bengal CID gets 8-day custody of Abhishek's aide Sumit Roy in illegal sale of government land case

MEDINIPUR: The West Bengal CID on Friday obtained eight days' custody of TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee's aide Sumit Roy in connection with alleged illegal sale of government land in Paschim Medinipur district, officials said.

A district court granted custody after the CID sought Roy’s remand for questioning, stating that his interrogation was required as part of the ongoing investigation and alleging that he had not cooperated during previous rounds of questioning.

The agency took Roy to a court in Medinipur town from Kolkata for production amid tight security after bringing him to the state-run SSKM Hospital in the state capital for a medical examination earlier in the day.

A large number of police personnel were deployed in and around the court premises, around 130 km from Kolkata, ahead of Roy's production.

CID arrested Roy on Thursday shortly after the Supreme Court refused to grant him anticipatory bail in the case relating to alleged illegal conversion and sale of government land at Salboni in the district using forged documents.

Roy was arrested from a Trinamool Congress office-cum-residence at 121 Kalighat Road in south Kolkata, which is allegedly associated with Banerjee, the party national general secretary.

The top court had earlier directed him to cooperate with the investigation, while the state government alleged that he had not adequately assisted the probe.

Former TMC MLA Sujoy Hazra was earlier arrested in connection with the case.

Investigators subsequently traced financial transactions allegedly linked to Roy following Hazra's interrogation, sources had said.

Roy had been summoned by the CID several times during the investigation.

The agency had also searched the Kalighat premises in June while looking for Roy.

His arrest triggered a political confrontation, with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and other BJP leaders targeting Banerjee over Roy's alleged role in the case, while the TMC questioned the timing of the arrest and accused the government of pursuing "revenge politics".

Adhikari, announcing the arrest in the state Assembly, described Roy as an "extortionist".

Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar and BJP MLA Sajal Ghosh had also alleged that Roy's arrest could eventually reach the TMC leadership.

The TMC, however, accused the BJP government of pursuing "revenge politics" and alleged that Roy's arrest was timed to target Banerjee, who was abroad for medical treatment with the Supreme Court's permission.