Kolkata: The West Bengal Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has issued a notice to Trinamool Congress national general secretary and Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee, directing him to provide voice samples in a probe into allegations that he threatened Union Home Minister Amit Shah and made remarks that incited violence ahead of the recent assembly elections.
The notice follows a North 24 Parganas court’s clearance earlier this week. Investigators had sought permission after citing video footage of Banerjee’s alleged remarks at a pre-election rally, and the court authorised the collection of voice samples, as reported by The Statesman.
Sample Collection Set For June 30
State police sources said a CID officer personally handed the
notice to Banerjee at his Kalighat residence on Wednesday night. The voice-sample collection has been scheduled for June 30 and, per the court’s directions, will take place in the presence of a judicial magistrate and forensic experts.
The Bidhannagar court on June 23 granted the CID’s application, authorising investigators to obtain the voice samples after they petitioned the bench.
Alleged Pre-Poll Remarks Under Probe
The matter arises from an FIR filed last month at the Bidhannagar Cyber Crime Police Station, which accuses Banerjee of making statements that threatened Union Home Minister Amit Shah and incited violence before the assembly polls. The case was transferred to the CID on June 11.
Earlier this month, Banerjee appeared at the CID’s Bhabani Bhavan office in Kolkata and was questioned for about six-and-a-half hours in connection with the same case.
Separate Probe On Signatures
This besides, Banerjee is the subject of another CID investigation alleging a mismatch in signatures of Trinamool Congress legislators on a resolution regarding Opposition appointments in the West Bengal Assembly. He has been questioned twice in that probe.
The latest development coincided with the Calcutta High Court’s single-judge bench declining Banerjee’s request for an expedited hearing on his application to travel overseas for ophthalmic treatment.