CBI summons TMC MP Aparupa Poddar, BJP leader Sovan Chatterjee in Narada sting case
The Central Bureau of Investigation has summoned Trinamool Congress MP Aparupa Poddar and Trinamool-turned-BJP leader Sovan Chatterjee in connection with the Narada sting footage case, a CBI official said on Wednesday.
While Chatterjee, the former Kolkata Mayor who defected to the saffron party earlier this month, has been summoned on August 31, Poddar, the Trinamool MP from Arambag, has been asked to appear before the agency officials on September 2.
Both Chatterjee and Poddar featured in the Narada sting tape that surfaced before the 2016 state assembly elections. In the footage of the sting operation conducted by Narada News CEO Mathew Samuel, a number of Trinamool leaders and elected representatives were purportedly seen taking cash while promising favours in return.
A senior CBI official from Kolkata said the two have been summoned for submitting their voice samples. "The Supreme Court has ordered the CBI to collect voice samples of those accused in the Narada case. So they might have been summoned for submitting the same. All those whose voice samples are yet to be collected will be summoned by the agency," CBI Joint Director Pankaj Srivastava told IANS.
Asked about the development, Poddar said she has received the CBI notice on Wednesday and will certainly appear before the sleuths after talking to her lawyer.
"I have received the CBI notice today. I will talk to my lawyer regarding the legality of the issue and appear before the agency," she said. Chatterjee, however, has not commented on the issue.
