Narada case: ED issues notices to 5 TMC leaders

The Enforcement Directorate on Monday sent notices to five Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders and summoned a suspended Indian Police Service officer in connection with the 2016 Narada sting operation case.

An ED official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the leaders – Lok Sabha members Saugata Roy and Kakali Ghosh Dastidar, former Lok Sabha member Aparupa Poddar, minister Suvendu Adhikari and TMC leader Ratna Chatterjee -- have been asked to furnish details of property owned by their families. Chatterjee’s husband, the former Kolkata mayor Sovon Chatterjee, is also an accused in this case.

The case is also being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

While Saugata Roy and Suvendu Adhikari said they would reply after receiving ED notices, the other three leaders were not immediately available for comments.

The case pertains to a controversy that erupted in March 2016 after Narada News portal uploaded a series of videos purportedly showing a number of high-profile TMC leaders receiving money in exchange for favours to a fictitious company.

The CBI filed an FIR in the case on March 16, 2017, acting on a Calcutta high court order, which was upheld by the Supreme Court. The CBI and ED probed bank transactions and wire transfers.

The CBI also registered FIR against then TMC Rajya Sabha MP Mukul Roy, who later joined the BJP and became the opposition party’s election strategist in Bengal.The suspended officer is Saiyaad Mustafa Hussain Mirza, who was posted as superintendent of police in Burdwan district during the sting operation.