TMC minister appears before ED in Narada case

After dodging the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) two summons, West Bengal Minister for Fire Services and Environment Sovan Chatterjee appeared before the investigating agency on Thursday in connection with the Narada sting operation case.

Chatterjee, also Kolkata Mayor, had excused himself from responding to the ED summons on July 10 and 25.

Charges against Chatterjee are that he had accepted Rs 5 lakh from a businessman ahead of 2014 general elections when he was the chief election agent of Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate Abhishek Banerjee from Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha seat.

Banerjee is TMC leader and party chief Mamata Banerjee’s nephew.

Narada news conducted the sting operation which filmed Trinamool Congress leaders and an IPS officer while they were allegedly accepting money from representatives of a fictitious company in return for favours. It subsequently aired the footages.

Chatterjee is the second Bengal minister to appear before the ED in connection with the Narada case. On Wednesday, the agency questioned State Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim was questioned for over four hours.

The ED sources said Hakim had said that he probably accepted funds either for the party coffers or for some club and that his claims are being investigated.

Bengal Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Minister Subrata Mukherjee is supposed to meet the ED officers on Friday.

The CBI has lodged an FIR and Narada News CEO Mathew Samuel has appeared before it in Kolkata in connection with the Narada case. The ED has also filed a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after the CBI filed its case.