KOLKATA: The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Tuesday took Sumit Roy, personal assistant to Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, to a flat close to his boss's Kalighat residence in Kolkata and conducted a search for more than two hours in connection with the Salboni land fraud case.
Roy was arrested by the CID last week from Abhishek Banerjee's Kalighat residence, where the Trinamool Congress office is located, over his alleged role in the land fraud case in Salboni, West Midnapore.
A Midnapore court remanded him to eight days of police custody. He is scheduled to be produced before the court again on September 19.
CID sources said investigators had obtained several leads during Roy's custodial interrogation and the search at the Kalighat flat, reportedly owned by him, was part of the ongoing investigation.
The CID has also arrested Amit Ghosh, Nityananda Roy and Lakshmikanta Bhuniya in the case from the Salboni police station area.
According to sources, a racket had been operating for a long time by preparing forged documents to illegally sell around 50 acres of land in the district.
Roy's arrest came after the Supreme Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea in the alleged sale of government land and deposit of the proceeds into a party account.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who also holds the Home portfolio, had told the West Bengal Assembly last week, “Sumit Roy, an eminent extortionist of Bengal has been arrested. CID have arrested him from the Trinamool Congress party office on 121 Kalighat Road after his anticipatory bail plea was rejected by the Supreme Court.”
On September 7, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant vacated its August 6 order staying Roy's arrest, following which the CID arrested him.
The bench heard submissions from senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for Roy, and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the West Bengal government, before refusing relief.
The Calcutta High Court had earlier rejected Roy's anticipatory bail plea in the case.
The FIR includes charges of cheating, criminal breach of trust, forgery, use of forged documents and criminal conspiracy.
The state government told the Supreme Court that Roy's custodial interrogation was necessary, alleging that crores of rupees in cash had been deposited by him in a bank.
“I have placed on record the transcripts. There is a detailed investigation and he has been evasive,” Mehta told the bench.
