The Bengal CID has issued fresh summons to TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee for further questioning on June 14 in the alleged signature forgery case linked to an Assembly resolution, after investigators expressed dissatisfaction with his responses during interrogation.
Abhishek, who appeared before the state investigating agency on Thursday after skipping three earlier summonses and complying with directions from the Calcutta High Court, was questioned for several hours by senior officers at the CID headquarters.
The officer said Abhishek responded “I do not know” to several queries and, at certain points, allegedly lost his temper during the interrogation.
“Several questions relating to the resolution, the signatures appearing on it, and the supporting documents could not be conclusively addressed during questioning. Certain records sought by the investigating team are yet to be produced. He has, therefore, been asked to appear again on Sunday with relevant documents,” he told PTI.
Investigators are examining how signatures of legislators who were allegedly absent from a party meeting appeared on the resolution, who exactly signed the document, and where the original copy is currently located.
“The investigation is focused on establishing the authenticity of the documents and the circumstances under which they were prepared and submitted. Further verification is required before any conclusion can be drawn,” the officer added.
After leaving the CID headquarters on Thursday night, Abhishek went to former chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s Kalighat residence, where he attended a meeting with senior party leaders, before departing without speaking to reporters.
The case stems from a series of meetings held by TMC legislators at the Kalighat residence on May 6, where they proposed the name of Sovandeb Chattopadhyay for the post of Leader of the Opposition, with support reportedly expressed through a show of hands.
However, the formal proposal was not immediately submitted to the Assembly. After the swearing-in of TMC MLAs on May 13 and 14, the Assembly Secretariat sought an official resolution from the party naming its nominee.
A fresh meeting was later held on May 19, after which a document bearing signatures of 70 legislators supporting Chattopadhyay was submitted to the Assembly.
Questions arose when discrepancies were allegedly found between signatures on different documents submitted by TMC MLAs, prompting the registration of an FIR and a CID investigation.
The state probe has so far questioned several legislators as part of its ongoing inquiry into the matter.