Bengal CID serves notice to Abhishek Banerjee for collecting voice samples

The legal and political heat surrounding Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary and Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee intensified on Wednesday after the West Bengal Criminal Investigation Department (CID) served him a notice directing him to provide voice samples in connection with a case alleging that he incited violence and threatened union home minister Amit Shah ahead of the recently concluded assembly elections.

Acting on an order issued by a district court in North 24-Parganas earlier this week, a CID officer personally visited Banerjee's residence on Kalighat Road in south Kolkata on Wednesday night and formally served the notice, according to sources in the state police.

The voice sample collection has been scheduled for 30 June and, as directed by the court, will be conducted in the presence of a judicial magistrate and forensic experts.

The move follows the CID's application before the Bidhannagar Court seeking permission to collect Banerjee's voice samples based on video footage purportedly showing him making controversial remarks at a pre-election rally. On 23 June, the court granted the request and fixed 30 June for the procedure.

Investigators are seeking to verify whether the voice heard in the video clips matches Banerjee's as part of the probe into allegations that he made provocative statements and issued threats against Amit Shah during the high-voltage election campaign.

The Trinamool leader had earlier spent nearly six-and-a-half hours being questioned at the CID headquarters at Bhabani Bhavan in Kolkata in connection with the same case.

An FIR was registered against him last month at the Bidhannagar Cyber Crime Police Station, accusing him of inciting violence and threatening the union home minister. The investigation was subsequently transferred to the CID on 11 June.

The latest development comes at a time when Banerjee is already facing scrutiny in another CID investigation concerning alleged discrepancies in the signatures of Trinamool Congress legislators on a resolution related to appointments earmarked for the opposition benches in the West Bengal Assembly. He has already been questioned twice in that case.

Adding to his legal troubles, a single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday declined his plea for an urgent hearing on a petition seeking permission to travel abroad for specialised ophthalmic treatment.

With multiple investigations gathering pace and legal challenges mounting, the coming days are expected to be crucial for one of the Trinamool Congress' most influential leaders.

With IANS inputs