Trinamool Congress (TMC) general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday submitted his audio sample in a Bidhannagar court in connection with the ongoing probe into his alleged intimidating speech during the West Bengal Assembly election campaign.
The move comes days after the Calcutta High Court pulled up Banerjee for not submitting his vote samples.
“The Calcutta High Court has set a deadline of 12 noon on July 15 for Banerjee to submit his voice sample. Banerjee reached the Bidhannagar court before the deadline where experts recorded his voice sample. He remained there for about two hours,” a police officer said.
The TMC member had earlier skipped two deadlines set by the lower court to register his vote sample. The Calcutta High Court on Friday warned Banerjee against withdrawing the protection granted to him.
Banerjee refused to respond to media queries.
“Even today, as I am talking to you on social media, Abhishek has been summoned. At least 25 to 30 cases have been registered against him. He is tolerant. He could have done a bust (entering into a secret agreement). That would have given him relief. Those who are pointing fingers at Abhishek and walking out of the party, that’s your excuse. If he did anything wrong, he was pardoned. Today he is fighting like a tiger,” TMC chief Mamata Banerjee said on Facebook.
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The Bidhannagar Police Commissioner registered a first information report on May 15 against Banerjee for allegedly making provocative statements in some of his election campaign speeches. The videos were widely circulated on social media.
The FIR, a copy of which was seen by HT, was registered under Sections 192, 196, 351 (2) and 353 (1) (c) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act and Sections 123 (2) and 125 of the Representation of People Act. Two of the charges are non-bailable.
The investigation was taken over by the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) which questioned Banerjee on June 16 at its headquarters in Kolkata for about six-and-a-half hours.
The complaint was registered at the cybercrime police station in Bidhan Nagar based on a written complaint filed by Rajib Sarkar, a local resident, on May 5, a day after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) defeated the TMC in the assembly elections.
Sarkar alleged that Banerjee made objectionable statements against Union ministers and rival parties.
“That man (Banerjee) who was seen threatening people standing on the hood of a car before the elections was summoned to give his vote sample. Why was he so afraid to record his vote sample?” said Debjit Sarkar, BJP spokesperson.
Ayan Bhattacharya, Banerjee’s lawyer, told the Calcutta High Court that Banerjee would need to be protected from eggshells. The court ordered the state to ensure protection for him.
