Calcutta, April 5: Narada News chief editor Mathew Samuel today told Calcutta High Court "there is threat to the security of the tapes and person" and sought permission to submit the unedited footage of the web portal's purported sting to "any investigating agency based in Delhi" instead of bringing it personally to the court.

In a five-page affidavit submitted to the division bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice Arijit Banerjee, Samuel said: "I state that Narada Media Private Limited is in possession of the said tapes and since there is threat to the security of the tapes and person, it is respectful submission of the deponent that he may be permitted to hand over the same to any investigating agency based in Delhi."

The footage, recorded before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, shows images of several persons resembling Trinamul leaders accepting cash from a journalist posing as a representative of a fictitious company.

Asked about Samuel's affidavit, a lawyer connected to the case said the tapes involved "many influential persons" and the journalist feared bringing the videos personally to Calcutta.

"Since many influential persons are involved in the case, the editor-in-chief is afraid to bring the footage to court. He wants a central investigating agency to... produce it before the court," said Udayshankar Chattopadhyay, a lawyer representing the two petitioners who have sought a CBI probe into the Narada episode.

Samuel's affidavit was today submitted by his legal team in response to an earlier order of the division bench relating to the petitions.

The court had on March 22 directed Samuel's representative to submit the unedited footage and furnish details of those who carried out the purported sting. The bench had said it would decided its course of action after verifying the authenticity of the tapes.

Samuel's affidavit said the footage was not doctored. "I state that the videos shown in the website are not doctored or tampered with and the same are original and published with full sense and responsibility."

In the concluding part of the affidavit, he said: "I will be fully co-operating with any investigation to prove the originality of the video. I state that Narada Media takes full responsibility and once again affirm that the videos shown on the website are not doctored or tampered and the same are original."

Describing himself as an "independent journalist" with experience of "20 years", Samuel said: "I state that www.naradanews.com is owned and run by Narada Media Private Limited having its registered office at Delhi. The company has three directors - Mathew Samuel, Angel Tincy Abhraham and Akshoy Kumar."