Bengal Police hunt for Abhishek Banerjee’s missing aide, question ex-Trinamool Councillor arrested in DA case

Kolkata, July 5 (IANS) The investigators of the West Bengal Police are attempting to locate Sumit Roy, the absconding executive assistant to the Trinamool Congress general secretary and Lok Sabha member, Abhishek Banerjee, by conducting extensive interrogations of Debraj Chakraborty, a former Trinamool Congress councillor who was apprehended last week in connection with a disproportionate assets (DA) case

A source within the state police said the questioning of Chakraborty is based on particular evidence obtained by the investigative team, which discovered that the councillor maintained regular communication with Roy, even after Roy went into hiding following the filing of cases related to extortion and illegal land acquisition against him.

He added that following a thorough examination of the bank accounts of a purportedly shell company, ‘DC Global’, which was reportedly owned by Chakraborty, with the name of the company being as per the initials of his name and surname, the investigating officials have got some specific evidence of money transfer from the entity’s account to that of Roy.

Sumit Roy’s involvement in illegal land-grabbing in West Midnapore district first surfaced last month following the arrest of a former Trinamool Congress legislator from the same district, Sujoy Hazra, in connection with the same case.

Now, the state police insider said, following the surfacing of financial links between Chakraborty and Roy, it is clear that the latter’s main assignment was to ensure collections from different sources of proceeds of crime.

Last month, a joint team of West Midnapore District Police, the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and the Kolkata Police conducted an early morning raid and search operations at the Kalighat residence of Abhishek Banerjee in search of Roy. However, he could not be traced there.

Thereafter, raids and search operations were conducted at some other places, including the residence of Roy’s in-laws. But he could not be traced there as well.

Chakraborty’s wife, Aditi Munshi, a former Trinamool Congress legislator and an acclaimed devotional singer, is also a co-accused in the disproportionate assets case. However, she is out on anticipatory bail now after a single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court granted her bail, considering the couple’s four-month-old child.

–IANS

src/dpb