CID questions Abhishek Banerjee in pre-poll violence incitement case (Lead)

Kolkata, June 16 (IANS) Trinamool Congress general secretary and the party’s Lok Sabha member, Abhishek Banerjee, on Tuesday appeared before the West Bengal Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at Bhabani Bhavan in Kolkata in connection with an FIR lodged over alleged inflammatory remarks and threats made to Union Home Minister Amit Shah before the Assembly elections.

At the time the report was filed, he had been questioned for almost two hours by CID sleuths investigating the matter.

Banerjee was supposed to appear at the CID’s headquarters at Bhabani Bhavan in South Kolkata by noon on Tuesday. However, he appeared at Bhabani Bhavan a few minutes before the deadline, signed the visitors’ register at the entrance gate and went inside to face the interrogation.

This is the third consecutive day he has been questioned in any case by an investigating agency.

On Monday, he was questioned by the officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for over 11 hours in connection with the multi-crore cash-for-school-job case in West Bengal.

Before that, on Sunday, he was questioned by CID sleuths for eight and a half hours in connection with the CID’s ongoing probe in the signature mismatch case. The case revolves around allegations of forgery involving the signatures of Trinamool Congress legislators on a state Assembly resolution nominating Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as the Leader of Opposition. Discrepancies on the submitted documents prompted the CID probe.

And now again on Tuesday, he is being questioned by the CID in connection with a case in which he has been accused of inciting violence and threatening Union Home Minister Amit Shah before the recently concluded Assembly polls in the state.

In this particular case, an FIR was registered against Banerjee last month at the Bidhannagar Cyber Crime Police Station under the Bidhannagar City Police. Officers of the cybercrime police station had been conducting the probe earlier until the investigation was handed over to the CID on June 11.

–IANS

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