In connection with the killing of a security guard in 2018, Suvendu Adhikari, a West Bengal BJP leader and former ally of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, was today summoned by the state police. The individual had perished as a result of a bullet wound.
Adhikari has been summoned to appear before the state criminal investigation agency on Monday, according to the court documents. The agency is investigating if the official committed suicide or if there was another party involved.
The development comes just a few days after Abhishek Banerjee, a Trinamool MP and Ms Banerjee’s nephew, was invited to appear before the Enforcement Directorate on Monday, September 6, in connection with an alleged money laundering case involving coal smuggling, according to reports. Rujira Banerjee, the Diamond Harbour MP’s wife, has also been summoned to appear before the agency on September 1 in New Delhi, according to the agency.
Additionally, in addition to the Trinamool Congress member and his wife, two senior West Bengal police officers and the state’s Law Minister, Moloy Ghatak, have been summoned for interrogation in connection with the investigation.
State Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari served as Chief Minister Banerjee’s Transport Minister until November 2020, when he resigned from his position and joined the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). Since then, the 50-year-old has turned into a bitter adversary of hers, going on to defeat her in the state Assembly elections conducted a few months ago in the Nandigram constituency. The Trinamool Congress chief, on the other hand, has filed a legal challenge against the poll results.
His involvement in the anti-land acquisition agitation in Nandigram in the late 2000s, which propelled Ms Banerjee to the forefront of West Bengal politics, has been well reported.Mr Adhikari was quizzed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2014 for his alleged involvement in the Saradha Group financial scandal. One video, which was secretly filmed, showed him allegedly collecting wads of cash, which was alleged to be a bribe, according to the report.