CBI raid ends at Trinamool MLA’s residence, continues at Minister Hakim’s house
Kolkata (IANS). The raid and search operation at the house of Trinamool Congress MLA Madan Mitra in South Kolkata’s Bhawanipur ended after five hours at around 2.30 pm on Sunday.
More than six hours after it began around 8.30 am, the raid and search operation continued at the residence of Kolkata Municipal Corporation Mayor and West Bengal Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim in South Kolkata’s Chetla.
The raids and search operations are related to a case of recruitment irregularities worth crores of rupees by municipalities in the state. Agency insiders said investigating officers obtained important information about the case by interrogating Mitra. They have seized documents from him. He has been questioned in connection with the said irregularities in Kamarhati municipality of North 24 Parganas district, where Mitra is a Trinamool Congress MLA.
Apart from the residences of Mitra and Hakim, CBI officials also conducted simultaneous raids and search operations at 10 other locations.
CBI insiders said they are not in a position to disclose documents seized in the raids and search operations from various locations due to court directions to maintain confidentiality in the case. A CBI officer who was part of the raid team in Halisahar said, “We will not be able to give details of the documents seized by us. We have to submit them directly to the court.”
The Trinamool Congress leadership has said that the raids and searches are an attempt by the BJP to divert attention from the Trinamool Congress’ ongoing dharna in front of the Raj Bhavan over the Centre’s alleged negligence in releasing the dues of the West Bengal government under various centrally sponsored schemes like MNREGA. .
Meanwhile, Governor C.V. Anand Bose, who is currently in Darjeeling in North Bengal, has now decided to cut short his visit there and return to Kolkata only on Sunday afternoon. However, it is not yet clear whether he will meet Trinamool Congress leaders, including the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, who has been sitting on a dharna in front of the Raj Bhavan since Thursday afternoon.(IANS)
