Sumit Roy, personal assistant to Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee, was on Friday remanded to eight days of CID custody by the Medinipur district court in connection with the alleged land irregularities case in Shalbani.
The order came after the Criminal Investigation Department sought Roy’s custody for questioning. He was produced before the court on Friday afternoon after being brought to Medinipur in a CID vehicle.
Roy will remain in CID custody until his next court appearance on September 19, according to the order.
CID seeks custodial interrogation
Roy was initially kept in the court lock-up before being produced before the judge. During the hearing, the prosecution argued that his custodial interrogation was necessary for the investigation.
Assistant Public Prosecutor Nazim Habib said the court had granted the CID’s request and ordered eight days of police custody. The court also sought details of the lawyer who would be present during Roy’s interrogation.
Roy’s counsel did not seek bail during Friday’s hearing.
The CID has maintained that Roy needs to be questioned about the alleged irregularities under investigation and that his custodial interrogation could assist investigators in establishing the sequence of events and examining other aspects of the case.
Roy’s arrest followed a significant development in the Supreme Court on Thursday. The apex court cancelled the protection from arrest that he had been granted and rejected his plea seeking anticipatory bail.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision, CID officers reached Abhishek Banerjee’s residence at Kalighat and arrested Roy. A large police contingent accompanied the investigating team.
There was a brief confrontation between police personnel and security guards outside the residence before CID officers entered the premises. Roy subsequently came out and was taken into custody.
He was first taken to Bhabanipur, before being sent to SSKM Hospital for a medical examination.
Suvendu Adhikari comments on arrest
Reacting to the arrest in the Assembly, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari described Roy as a person involved in extortion allegations and referred to the Supreme Court’s decision while speaking about the action.
“The protection from arrest was cancelled by the Supreme Court and he was arrested from the TMC office in Kalighat,” Adhikari said.
He further claimed that Roy had been arrested by the state CID from 121, Kalighat Road.
The allegations made by the chief minister are part of the wider political dispute surrounding the case.
Roy's name absent from existing chargesheet
The Shalbani land case has already seen the arrest of former Trinamool Congress MLA Sujay Hazra.
The CID has previously filed a 14-page chargesheet naming four accused, including Hazra. Roy’s name, however, does not figure in that chargesheet.
Investigators have indicated before the court that his name could be included in a supplementary chargesheet following further investigation.
The CID told the court that Roy’s custodial interrogation was necessary and that it intended to submit a supplementary chargesheet after completing the investigation.
