West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Dilip Ghosh on Monday, 17 May, has lodged an FIR against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, after she started a sit-in at the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) Kolkata office to protest the arrests of TMC leaders in the Narada bribery case.
A copy of the FIR has been sent to several dignitaries of the state, including OC Medinipur, Governor, Chief Secretary, DGP, Secretary of Home Department, Secretary General, and the CEO of National Human Rights Commission and National commission for Women.
In the complaint, Ghosh writes how the Banerjee has stationed herself outside the CBI office since 10.57 am, when Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers are already gathered outside the CBI office, mounting pressure on the probe in the Narada scam.
The CBI is under a lot of pressure. It has put in place additional security forces after the anti-corruption wing brought in the four ministers.
The CBI on Monday arrested ministers Firhad Hakim, Subrata Mukherjee, and Trinamool Congress MLA Madan Mitra in connection with the bribery case.
The agency has also arrested former TMC leader and ex-Kolkata Mayor Sovan Chatterjee.
Former TMC and now BJP leaders Suvendu Adhikari and Mukul Roy are also involved in the same case. Yet the Lok Sabha speaker, Om Birla, has not permitted for any action to be taken against them.
The CBI is to present a charge sheet before a special court on Monday.
What Is the Case About?
In 2016, Samuel, editor and managing director of Narada News portal, just before the West Bengal Assembly elections, had broadcast a sting video in which a number of TMC leaders were allegedly seen taking money on camera.
The purported video footage of the sting operation surfaced before the 2016 Assembly polls.
The CBI had lodged an FIR in April 2017 following a court order, naming 12 top TMC leaders, including MPs and West Bengal ministers, and an IPS officer.
In its FIR, the agency said suspected public servants who were shown to have either accepted money in cash given by Samuel posing as a representative of a Chennai-based company or asked him to hand over the money to someone else on their behalf were identified.
An FIR was lodged for alleged criminal conspiracy under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act which deals with bribery and criminal misconduct.
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