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Abhishek Banerjee's PA Sumit Roy arrested by CID in Salboni land grab case
Sumit Roy's arrest came after the the Supreme Court on Thursday refused to grant him an anticipatory bail in the land grab case.
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The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Thursday arrested Sumit Roy, the personal assistant of Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, in connection with an alleged land-grabbing case.
The arrest came hours after a Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana dismissed Roy’s anticipatory bail plea and lifted its interim order protecting him from arrest.
“We have arrested Sumit Roy from 121 Kalighat Road. Investigation is going on,” said a senior CID officer.
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Roy was taken into custody from the Kalighat residence of Banerjee, who is on a visit to the United States of America for eye treatment. Last month, Banerjee was granted permission to travel abroad for three weeks for the treatment.
Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari, who also holds the home portfolio, announced Roy’s arrest in the state assembly, describing him as a "well-known extortionist".
Investigation in land grab case
The West Bengal police started investigating Roy in June after former TMC legislator Sujoy Hazra, who had been arrested days earlier, accused the TMC leader’s aide of involvement in the sale of large tracts of government land in West Midnapore’s Salboni based on fabricated documents.
On June 13, the state police also carried out a mid-night.
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At 2 am on June 13, a large police contingent turned up at Banerjee’s Kalighat Road residence to look for Roy after his phone number was allegedly found to be active in the area. They were able to enter the house only four hours later when the Kolkata Police’s disaster management group was called in to break open the locks.
Roy later moved the Calcutta high court to seek protection from arrest. When the plea was rejected on August 3, he moved the Supreme Court.
The top court stayed Roy's arrest and directed him to appear for interrogation and cooperate with the investigation.
Police had questioned Roy for more than 80 hours in the past ten days but insisted that he was not cooperating.
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In a video message, TMC spokesperson Anirban Banerjee said the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party had stopped to the lowest possible level of revenge politics.
“The arrest comes at a time when Banerjee is out of his residence and the country and is undergoing eye treatment. He has gone there with the Supreme Court’s permission. His family is residing at the residence. The BJP has stooped to the lowest possible filthy level of revenge politics. They are targeting the family of the MP. We strongly condemn this,” the TMC spokesperson said.
