CBI arrests two TMC ministers, one MLA in Narada sting operation case
New Delhi, May 17
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Trinamool MLAs Firhad Hakim, Subrata Mukherjee while also picked up Madan Mitra, and former minister and Kolkata's former Mayor Shovan Chatterjee in the Narada bribery case.
A CBI team along with central forces reached Hakim's residence in the morning and took him to the probe agency's office.
The move comes days after Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar gave his consent to the CBI for filing a chargesheet against the four accused and sanctioned prosecution against them.
According to sources, the CBI will present a charge sheet against them before a special court. The CBI official said that the accused have been charged for bribery of around Rs five lakh while former mayor Shovan Mukherjee has been charged for taking bribery of Rs 4 lakh.
The ministers are being interrogated by the CBI Officials.
A huge number of TMC workers gathered outside BJP's office and are raising slogans against the Prime Minister and BJP leader Suvendu Adhirkari. Heavy security has been deployed and barricading have been done to keep the situation under control.
The Narada sting tapes, made public before the 2016 assembly elections in Bengal, were claimed to have been shot in 2014, and people resembling TMC ministers, MPs, and MLAs were allegedly seen in the video taking bribes in lieu of favoured promises.
All four were ministers in the previous Mamata Banerjee government when the Narada bribery tapes were released in 2014.
While Firhad Hakim, Subrata Mukherjee, and Madan Mitra have been re-elected as TMC MLAs in the just-concluded assembly elections, Sovan Chatterjee, who left the TMC to join the BJP, has severed links with both the camps.
The Narada sting operation was allegedly conducted by Mathew Samuel of Narada News portal. In the tapes, several TMC ministers, MPs and MLAs were allegedly seen receiving money from representatives of a fictitious company in exchange of promised favours.
(This is a developing story)
