Abhishek Banerjee aide deposited Rs 7 crore in TMC accounts: CID tells court

The West Bengal Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Saturday told a district court in West Midnapore that Sumit Roy, personal assistant to Trinamool Congress general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee, had deposited around Rs 7 crore into accounts linked to the party between 2018 and 2021.

Roy, along with former Trinamool MLA Sujoy Hazra and others, was arrested in connection with an alleged illegal land-grabbing case in Salboni. The case involves allegations of creating and selling government-vested land using forged documents.

Roy was produced before the court on Saturday as the CID sought his further custody for interrogation.

According to documents submitted by the investigating agency, Roy allegedly told investigators that he deposited the money into the Trinamool Congress fund on the instructions of Banerjee. He reportedly said a person identified as T. Ghosh, described as Banerjee’s treasurer, handed him the money for depositing into the party account.

Roy, however, denied receiving any money from the alleged land scam, according to the CID documents. He reportedly admitted visiting Salboni several times on party instructions.

The CID had earlier mentioned in its chargesheet against Hazra, filed this month, that Roy deposited around Rs 7 crore into a specific account at a public sector commercial bank in Kolkata between 2018 and 2021. The account was registered in the name of the West Bengal Trinamool Youth Congress.

CID officials said they wanted to question Ghosh to establish the source of the funds and determine how Roy came to deposit the money into the party account.

“When Sumit deposited the money in the party’s account instead of his own, it cannot be his own decision. That is why we want to record the statement of T. Ghosh,” CID insiders were quoted as saying.

Public prosecutor Syed Nazim Habib said the agency required further interrogation of Roy, Hazra and other accused. The CID had sought seven days’ custody.

Roy’s counsel initially sought bail but later withdrew the application. The court subsequently granted the CID five days’ custody of the arrested persons.

The allegations are part of the CID’s ongoing investigation into the alleged illegal transfer and sale of government-vested land in Salboni. The claims made by the investigating agency are part of the ongoing proceedings and have not been established in court.

With IANs inputs