Encounter 'threats', Rs 1 cr cash stash: Abhishek Banerjee’s PA in eye of storm

• TMC alleges Bengal police threatened Sumit Roy with an encounter during interrogation.

• Police recover Rs 1.03 crore from premises in Sarisha after questioning Roy.

• TMC disputes the claim that the premises was an active party office and questions the seizure.

Serious allegations of custodial intimidation have emerged in the Sarisha cash recovery case in West Bengal, with Sumit Roy — personal assistant to Trinamool Congress national general-secretary Abhishek Banerjee — allegedly being threatened with an encounter by police officers during interrogation. Advocate and TMC spokesperson Arka Nag has claimed that Roy was warned he could meet the same fate as two people killed in alleged recent encounters if he refused to cooperate with the investigation.

Speaking about the incident, Nag alleged that Roy was subjected to prolonged interrogation almost every night, often continuing until 3.00 am. On the latest occasion, he was reportedly taken out of the police station at around 3.30 am under the pretext of conducting a seizure operation.

According to Nag, Roy told his lawyers that police officers took him to Diamond Harbour Women's University and threatened him. They allegedly said if he did not cooperate, they would be forced to carry out a "third encounter", referring to two previous incidents. Nag said legal action was being considered over the allegation.

The circumstances surrounding the subsequent search have raised further questions. Nag alleged that Roy was taken to a building and instructed to enter it first. Roy reportedly refused, saying he did not recognise the premises and suspected that something was wrong.

He was then allegedly taken to the nearby university, where he remained for approximately one to one-and-a-half hours, before being brought back to the original location. By then, according to his account, currency notes were already being counted.

Nag further claimed that Roy was later taken to Diamond Harbour Police Station, where senior officers, including the superintendent of police and additional superintendent of police, were present during the counting process. Roy allegedly refused to enter the room, following which officers threatened him with a firearm, covered his head with a black cloth and forcibly took him inside.

"We strongly believe that Sumit Roy is no longer safe in police custody; his life is at risk," Nag said, alleging political interference in the investigation. He added that Roy would approach the appropriate court for legal remedies.

The allegations have emerged amid a major controversy over the recovery of Rs 1,02,79,000 (approximately Rs 1.03 crore) from a premises in Sarisha, Diamond Harbour, on Tuesday night.

Roy is currently in police custody in connection with an alleged illegal soil excavation and sale racket in the Kalitala-Ashuti area of South 24 Parganas. He was already in judicial custody in a separate land scam case in Salboni. Last Saturday, Diamond Harbour police secured his formal arrest in the soil theft case, and the Alipore court granted the police 10 days' custody to question him about the alleged racket.

Diamond Harbour police said the recovery followed prolonged questioning of Roy in connection with the alleged soil theft case. Additional superintendent of police Abhishek Majumder confirmed the seizure, saying, "We got some clues after interrogating Sumit for long hours and then conducted a search operation at the Trinamool Congress party office at Sarisha, where we seized the hard cash of Rs 1,02,79,000 on the spot."

Majumder also acknowledged that the ownership and management of the premises required further investigation. "It was a Trinamool Congress party office, but we will have to find out exactly who used to run the office," he said.

However, the TMC has challenged the police's description of the premises as an active party office. Nag referred to a complaint allegedly submitted by Maidul Islam, then an observer of the TMC's Diamond Harbour Assembly unit, to Diamond Harbour Police Station.

According to the party, the premises had been handed back to landlord Aditya Haldar on 21 May, following which it was vandalised. A written complaint was reportedly submitted by e-mail on 22 May, with a hard copy handed over to the police the following day.

Nag questioned why the police had allegedly disregarded the complaint and the General Diary records. He accused sections of the administration of attempting to frame Roy and manufacture a political controversy.

Meanwhile, BJP leaders have used the recovery to attack the TMC. BJP leader Uttam Bagh alleged that Roy controlled a substantial share of Abhishek Banerjee's money and claimed that the constituency had been used to collect funds.

The police are yet to establish the source, ownership or intended use of the recovered cash. The TMC, meanwhile, insists that documentary evidence relating to the building must be examined.