Daijiworld Media Network - Kolkata
Kolkata, Sep 19: The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the West Bengal Police on Saturday told a district court in West Midnapore that Sumit Roy, personal assistant to Trinamool Congress general secretary and Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee, had deposited around Rs 7 crore into a Trinamool Congress-linked account.
Roy, along with former Trinamool legislator Sujoy Hazra and others, was arrested in connection with an alleged land-grabbing case in Salboni, West Midnapore. The case involves allegations of creating and selling government-vested land using forged documents.
Roy was produced before the court on Saturday. According to documents submitted by the CID, he told investigators that, on the instructions of Abhishek Banerjee, a person identified as T Ghosh, described as the MP’s treasurer, gave him money to deposit in the Trinamool party fund.
Roy reportedly denied receiving money from the alleged land scam but admitted visiting Salboni several times on party instructions.
In its chargesheet filed earlier this month against Sujoy Hazra, the CID said Roy deposited around Rs 7 crore in a specific account at a public sector bank in Kolkata between 2018 and 2021. The account was registered in the name of the West Bengal Trinamool Youth Congress.
CID officials said the agency wanted to record the statement of T Ghosh to establish the source and purpose of the funds.
“When Sumit deposited the money in the party’s account instead of his own, it cannot be his own decision. That is why we want to record the statement of T Ghosh,” CID insiders were quoted as saying.
The investigation is part of the wider probe into the alleged Salboni land racket, with the CID also examining the financial trail and the role of other individuals. The agency's chargesheet has alleged the use of forged land documents in the case.
Public prosecutor Syed Nazim Habib said further interrogation of Roy, Hazra and others was required.
“We applied for seven days of CID custody. Sumit’s counsel initially applied for bail but later withdrew it. The court ordered five days of CID custody for the arrested persons,” Habib told reporters.
The CID investigation remains underway, with the agency seeking to establish the complete money trail and identify the persons allegedly involved in the land transactions.