KOLKATA,
Jun 9:Mamata Banerjee, a three-time former chief minister, remains in
deep political peril as the Crime Investigation Department, or CID,
arrived at her Kolkata home in connection with its investigation into
the alleged forged signature of MLAs that has triggered an unprecedented
split in the party.
Officials of the state investigating agency,
accompanied by personnel from the Kalighat police station and a large
contingent of women police personnel, arrived at the party's central
office at 30B Harish Chatterjee Street around noon, sources said.
The
CID's move comes days after the agency served notices seeking
information related to the alleged forging of signatures of Trinamool
legislators on a proposal submitted to the Assembly Speaker for
recognition of the Leader of Opposition.
According to CID
officials present at the spot, the search was sought on the basis of a
reply submitted by Trinamool national general secretary Abhishek
Banerjee to an earlier notice issued by the agency.
"In his
response, Abhishek Banerjee stated that signatures of MLAs were
collected at the party's central office at 30B Harish Chatterjee Street.
Based on that statement, we have come here as part of the
investigation," a CID officer said.
Three CID teams are conducting searches.
One
team is at the residence of Mamata Banerjee, who is away in Delhi.
Another team is at Mamata Banerjee's nephew and MP Abhishek Banerjee's
office. A third team is at Abhishek Banerjee's residence.
The
controversy erupted after a proposal sent to the Speaker seeking
recognition of senior Trinamool MLA Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as Leader of
Opposition allegedly contained forged signatures of several
legislators.
Two Trinamool MLAs -- Ritabrata Banerjee and
SandipanSaha - complained to the Speaker that the so-called resolution
was "manufactured and fabricated" and stated that as many as 14 of the
70 signatures were in "block letters".
The allegations led to the registration of an FIR and a CID investigation.
The
Trinamool expelled both MLAs from the party for alleged "anti-party
activities", minutes after Chief Minister SuvenduAdhikari publicly
revealed their names.
ANI adds, West Bengal BJP leader and state
minister Agnimitra Paul strongly criticised Mamata Banerjee after a CID
team arrived at her Kolkata residence in connection with a
forged-signature probe.
"It only shows that nobody is above the
Constitution, and nobody is above the law of the land. Mamata Banerjee,
as an ex-Chief Minister, tolerated criminals, corruption, and whatnot
for the last fifteen years. She never cared for the Constitution. She
acted as if West Bengal were another country and she were the Prime
Minister of that country. So today, CID is acting, and everyone involved
will be brought to book, and the public will be given justice," she
said.
She further alleged that the former Chief Minister had
"cheated" the people of West Bengal and made remarks against
constitutional institutions, central forces, the Prime Minister and the
President, reiterating that she should be "booked and arrested".
"The
people of Bengal were cheated because of her. The way she spoke against
the country, demeaned the central forces, the Prime Minister, and even
the Honourable President, she should be booked, she should be arrested,"
she added. �"AGENCIES
