CBI questions Sameer Wankhede for more than nine hours in cruise drug bust bribery case

The Central agency booked Mr. Wankhede and four others on May 11 for alleged criminal conspiracy and threat of extortion, besides under provisions pertaining to bribery under the Prevention of Corruption Act on a complaint by the NCB.

Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on May 20 appeared before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the West Bengal school job scam. Mr. Banerjee was questioned for over nearly nine hours at CBI office at Kolkata’s Nizam Palace for over nine hours. He arrived at the CBI office at around 11 am and let the venue at about 8.30 pm.

Speaking to journalists after the questioning, Mr. Banerjee said the questioning was a waste of time for him as well as those who questioned him. “I had promised full coperation to the agencies and I answered all questions.... I will not bring what was asked in public domain but some names were raised of which 90 % were from Purba Meduinipur and Murshidabad. We all know who was in charge of these district,” the Trinamool leader said, referring to BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari. Mr. Banerjee said that if he were to join BJP then no agency would target him. Accusing the BJP government of Centre of political vendatta he said that attempts are being made to stop the Trinamool Congress’s outreach progamme.

The agency has issued summons to the Diamond Harbour MP on Friday, May 19, after the Calcutta High Court dismissed his petition seeking recall of a previous order of the same court which said that investigative agencies such as CBI and ED could interrogate him in the teacher recruitment scam.

Also read: Sameer Wankhede moves HC to seek quashing of CBI FIR against him

Before his appearance before the agency Mr. Banerjee wrote to the CBI citing that he has preferred Special Leave Petition before the Supreme Court challenging Calcutta High Court Justice Amrita Sinha order and the same shall be mentioned before the Supreme Court for urgent hearing on May 22 or when the court permits.

The Trinamool’s second in command had to suspend the party’s outreach initiative in Bankura to appear before the agency on Saturday. Mr. Banerjee on Friday had dared the CBI to arrest him. He has said that for the past three years the central agencies were trying to frame him first in coal (pilferage scam), then in cattle (smuggling) and now SSC (school service commission) recruitment scam.

While summons to Mr. Banerjee have been issued in the past by the CBI as well as the Enforcement Directorate in the coal pilferage scam, the name of the Trinamool leader in the recruitment scam came up last month, when an accused Kuntal Ghosh wrote to the Court alleging that he was threatened by the agencies to name Mr. Banerjee.