Bengal CID arrests Abhishek Banerjee aide Sumit Roy after SC rejects anticipatory bail

The West Bengal CID on Thursday arrested Sumit Roy, personal assistant to Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, shortly after the Supreme Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea in an alleged government land fraud case in Salboni.

CID officials picked up Roy from Banerjee’s Kalighat residence after the Supreme Court refused to grant him pre-arrest protection and vacated its earlier order staying his arrest. A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana declined to interfere with the Calcutta High Court’s 3 August order rejecting Roy’s anticipatory bail plea.

The case relates to allegations that West Bengal government land in Salboni was illegally transferred and sold after being divided into smaller plots, with investigators probing the alleged financial trail of the transactions. The case has been registered under provisions relating to cheating, criminal breach of trust, forgery, use of forged documents and criminal conspiracy.

The state government had strongly opposed Roy’s plea before the Supreme Court, arguing that his custodial interrogation was necessary for the investigation. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that Roy had not provided satisfactory answers during questioning and that investigators needed to examine the alleged financial transactions connected to the case.

According to CID sources, Roy had appeared before investigators 11 times and was questioned for around 88 hours, including nine appearances in connection with the Salboni case.

Investigators alleged that he had not been fully cooperative.

The prosecution has also alleged that forged title documents were used in the transactions involving government land and that local political leaders and influential individuals were involved.

Roy’s lawyers, however, have maintained that he cooperated with the investigation and appeared before the CID whenever summoned. They have opposed the need for his custodial interrogation.

The Supreme Court had earlier stayed Roy’s arrest on 6 August and directed him to cooperate with the investigation. With Thursday’s order, that protection was withdrawn, clearing the way for the CID to arrest him.

After the court’s decision, a team of CID and Special Task Force personnel reached Banerjee’s Kalighat residence and took Roy into custody. He was taken to the CID headquarters at Bhawani Bhawan for further procedures and is expected to be produced before a court in Midnapore, where investigators are likely to seek his custody.

The arrest comes amid an ongoing investigation into the alleged illegal transfer and sale of government land in Salboni and the suspected money trail arising from those transactions.