Court Approves Voice Sample Collection from Abhishek Banerjee Amid Bengal Violence Allegations

Kolkata, June 23: A court in North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, has granted the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) permission to collect a voice sample from Abhishek Banerjee, the General Secretary of the Trinamool Congress and a Member of Parliament. He faces allegations of inciting violence ahead of the recent assembly elections and threatening Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The CID filed a petition in Bidhannagar Court based on video footage of Banerjee’s statements during a pre-election rally. On Tuesday, the judicial magistrate approved the request and scheduled the sample collection for June 30. This process will be conducted in the presence of the judicial magistrate and forensic experts.

Earlier this month, Banerjee was interrogated for over six hours at the CID headquarters located in South Kolkata’s Bhawanipur. Last month, an FIR was lodged against him at the Bidhannagar Cyber Crime Police Station, and the case was later transferred to the CID on June 11.

Additionally, Banerjee is under investigation by the CID concerning discrepancies related to signatures of Trinamool legislators on a proposal for reserved appointments in the assembly. He has already been questioned twice in this matter.

Previously, Abhishek Banerjee filed a petition in the Calcutta High Court seeking permission for foreign travel. The MP from Diamond Harbour raised this issue before Justice Sougata Bhattacharya, with a hearing expected later this week.

Banerjee intends to travel abroad for eye treatment and has requested a seven-day permit. Reports indicate that there are currently no obstacles to his foreign travel; however, he is involved in several pending cases. The court has instructed him to cooperate with the investigations. In this context, he has sought court permission for his overseas trip for medical treatment.

In October 2016, Abhishek Banerjee was involved in an accident while returning to Kolkata from a party event in Murshidabad, resulting in severe injuries to his eye. He has previously received treatment in various hospitals across the country and later sought care abroad.

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