Trinamul Congress leader Anubrata Mondal finally faced police interrogation on Thursday, seven days after he had allegedly abused Bolpur inspector-in-charge Liton Halder and his family members verbally over the phone.
The Birbhum Trinamool leader quietly reached the office of Bolpur subdivisional police officer Rickey Agrawal through the backdoor, leaving behind his police escort and Y-plus category security. Apparently to avoid media attention, he did not arrive in his usual car.
Both Mondal and the police remained tight-lipped about the interrogation. However, a source close to the TMC leader said Mondal had admitted to calling up the IC over the phone, but said he could not “recollect” whether he had abused the police officer.
“Since Day One, he had been saying he had never intended to abuse any police officer, as he respected them. He takes medication, and that is why he can’t recall whether he used abusive language,” said the source.
Asked via a text message whether Mondal had denied or admitted the charge of abusing the IC, Birbhum district police chief Amandeep replied: “I cannot comment.”
Mondal sparked a controversy when his phone call to Halder on May 28 was widely circulated on social media the following day. In the telephone conversation, the Trinamool leader is alleged to have used abusive language against Halder and his family members, embarrassing the party and the government.
The police lodged a case against him under four sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, two of which are non-bailable.
Mondal was summoned twice to appear before the investigating officer on May 31 and June 1. He skipped both the summonses, citing a medical report that advised him five days of rest. The medical report was also mired in controversy as it was issued by a private medical college, which is owned by Malay Pit, who is considered a close associate of Mondal.
The CBI had questioned Pit in the multi-crore cattle smuggling case, in which Mondal spent two years in prison.
Following instructions from the TMC’s state leadership, Mondal sought an unconditional public apology for the alleged conversation, but did not directly admit to using abusive language on the police officer.
Mondal’s close aide, Debabrata Sarkar, even went a step further, claiming that the controversial voice recording had been generated using artificial intelligence to malign the leader.
“In such cases, it is quite common to deny the charges. How can someone admit to abusing a police officer in such a manner?” said a TMC leader.
A police source said that Mondal could not deny the conversation itself, as call records would confirm that he spoke to the IC.
“So he admitted to speaking with the IC but claimed that he couldn’t recall the full conversation, citing health issues,” the source said.
A probe was initiated against Halder also.
As part of the probe, the police seized Halder’s mobile phone. But the phone used by Mondal to make the call on May 28 remains with the TMC leader.
A senior police officer said that the IC’s phone had been seized as he had allegedly recorded the conversation.
“Seizing a phone isn’t necessary to establish a conversation between two individuals,” said the officer.
The officer also said that as Mondal finally faced the police, there seemed to be no grounds to arrest him. However, he may be summoned again.
A senior officer said that after verifying his claims from the videotaped interrogation, the police might call him to appear in court.
To reach the SDPO office, Mondal took narrow lanes through Santiniketan’s Purba Pally. He entered the office through the back door — typically used for police vehicles and residents of the police quarters — at 3.30pm, accompanied by his advocate Bipadtaran Bhattacharya and an aide.
The SDPO office is located on the Santiniketan police station campus.
The leader, known for interacting with reporters on various occasions, did not utter a single word upon exiting the SDPO office at 5.30pm. He went directly to the Bolpur party office, which was closed to outsiders.
The police maintained tight security at both the front and back doors of the SDPO office during Mondal’s interrogation.
Opposition leaders said the interrogation was staged and asked whether a common person would have received the same treatment had he behaved similarly with a police officer.
“Why did the police wait for Anubrata Mondal? If any ordinary citizen had done the same, would the police have acted in the same way? This shows that the administration and police have become spineless. The entire episode seems to have been scripted,” said state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar.
CPM leader Sujan Chakraborty called the interrogation a mere formality, alleging that Mondal enjoyed the protection of the police minister (Mamata Banerjee).
“It was a staged drama. Even the police didn’t seize the leader’s phone. They can’t act against him because he has the blessings of the state’s police minister,” Chakraborty said.