Mamata on Dharna after Kolkata police-CBI face-off; CBI to move SC
‘I am sorry to say National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is giving instructions to the agency. He is implementing what PM Narendra Modi is asking. He should tell the people that it is not correct’
KOLKATA February 3, 2019: Amid high drama, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sat on dharna at Esplanade here on Sunday evening to protest an attempted CBI raid on Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar’s residence at Rawdon Street, which led to the detention of over 15 CBI sleuths by the city police.
The fast-paced development started unfolding as soon as a team of 40-odd agency officers arrived at Kumar’s residence at Loudon Street in central Kolkata on Sunday afternoon, but they were stopped by sentries and officials.
The team had gone to question Kumar in connection with chit fund scam cases.
As the CBI team landed at his residence, a team of Kolkata Police officers rushed to the spot to speak to the CBI officials and tried to enquire if they had the documents required for questioning Kumar.
Later on, a small team of CBI officials was taken to Shakespeare Sarani police station for further discussions. Thereafter, more men arrived at the spot and a commotion ensued. Some CBI officers were then forcibly bundled into police jeeps and taken to the police station.
The detention of the team by the local police perplexed the agency top brass as the CBI does not have any full time chief to take call in such politically sensitive matters. Recently appointed Director R K Shukla is yet to take reins of the agency.
The CBI has been probing cases allegedly involving opposition leaders like illegal mining case and the Saradha scam in which it was seeking to question the Kolkata police chief. The probe was handed over to the CBI by the Supreme Court.
In a dramatic showdown with the Modi government, a furious Banerjee, wrapped in a brown woollen shawl, began a sit-in right in front of the Metro Cinema to protest “insults” she faced at the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah.
Banerjee, one of the prime movers behind the effort to cobble together an anti-BJP alliance ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, claimed the CBI knocked on the doors of Kumar without a search warrant.
She alleged they want to impose President’s rule in whatever states the opposition is in power. — PTI
