Kolkata: The West Bengal CID on Thursday arrested TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee’s aide Sumit Roy from a party office-cum-residence in south Kolkata, shortly after the Supreme Court refused him anticipatory bail in a case involving alleged illegal sale of government land in Salboni.
The arrest triggered a political confrontation, with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and other BJP leaders targeting Banerjee over Roy’s alleged role in the case, while the rebel TMC camp questioned the timing of the arrest and the other faction accused the government of pursuing “revenge politics”.
Adhikari announced the arrest in the state legislative assembly.
Union minister Sukanta Majumdar said Roy’s arrest was inevitable after the Supreme Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea and suggested that the investigation could eventually reach the TMC leadership.
“He used to do everything on Abhishek’s behalf. He practically ran the entire government. There are several allegations of corruption against him. The arrest has happened, but this is only the ear that has been caught. Now the head will also be caught. The head is sitting on Camac Street,” Majumdar said.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Sajal Ghosh said Roy’s arrest was only the beginning and directly linked the aide to Banerjee.
“I had been waiting for this. The moment the Supreme Court removed the protection, the CID picked up Sumit Roy. The aide has been arrested; Bengal is now waiting to see when the master will be arrested. People want to see him in jail. That will be the real celebration,” he said.
The arrest also brought to the fore the continuing internal divisions within the TMC, with senior rebel faction MLA Madan Mitra questioning the chronology of Banerjee leaving the country for medical treatment and Roy being arrested soon after.
“Abhishek Banerjee has gone abroad for medical treatment. He should get proper treatment so that he does not have to keep rushing abroad repeatedly. But the chronology of Sumit’s arrest says it all! Abhishek left the country and left Sumit behind here. The question arises: was Abhishek’s foreign trip therefore a matter of timing?” Mitra said.
Mitra, who is aligned with the rebel TMC camp led by Leader of the Opposition in the assembly Ritabrata Banerjee, also attacked Abhishek over his alleged lifestyle and questioned the source of funds for a property he claimed the TMC leader was staying in the USA.
“Abhishek is staying in a luxurious, palace-like villa in Long Island, an extremely expensive area of New Jersey, where some of the world’s top billionaires live. On one hand, the homes of ordinary people in Bengal are being submerged in water, while on the other, there is a chartered plane and a royal lifestyle in the US! The state administration should immediately investigate the cost of this villa in New Jersey and the source of the income used to pay for it,” he said.
