The Enforcement Directorate (ED) booked 12 Trinamool Congress members, including MPs and West Bengal ministers, and an IPS officer on Friday for their alleged involvement in the Narada bribery scandal. The Trinamool members are under investigation for allegedly accepting money from a decoy businessman in exchange for political favours.
The allegations stem from a sting operation carried out by a channel named Narada. The 12 Trinamool members and the IPS officer have already been booked by the CBI in connection with the case. The suspects are: Rajya Sabha member Mukul Roy; Lok Sabha members Saugata Roy, Aparupa Poddar, Sultan Ahmed, Prasun Banerjee and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar; West Bengal ministers Firhad Hakim, Suvendu Adhikari, Sovan Chatterjee, Subrata Mukherjee; former state minister Madan Mitra; MLA Iqbal Ahmed; and IPS officer Saiyaad Mustafa Hussain Mirza. Mirza, who was posted as the superintendent of police of Burdwan when the sting was carried out, was too purportedly seen accepting money on camera.
ED officials said the agency had booked the 13 and a few “unknown” people under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after studying the CBI FIR. It will probe the alleged “proceeds of crime” generated in the case, they said, and soon summonses would be issued to the accused for questioning.
The Calcutta high court had ordered the CBI to conduct a preliminary inquiry in the sting operation, and later asked it to file an FIR. On Friday, the court directed the CBI to continue with its probe.
