Narada sting case: SMH Mirza to remain in judicial custody till Oct 15

Kolkata, Sep 30: A day after BJP leader Mukul Roy appeared before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) the investigators on Sunday took suspended IPS officer SMH Mirza to Roy's Elgin Road flat in a bid to reconstruct a sequence of events into the Narada scam. Mirza was produced before the CBI court today where the court extended his judicial custody till October 15.

Reportedly, the CBI had questioned Roy for nearly three hours on Saturday, along with Mirza. Roy was asked also to appear before the agency again on Sunday. CBI has summoned Roy after they arrested IPS officer SHM Mirza on Thursday who has been granted into CBI's custody till September 30. He will be produced at a special CBI court on Monday.

Roy had been asked to appear in the probe agency's office on Friday. But he did not go there citing "preoccupations" and sought more time. The former railway minister was then asked to come on Saturday.

The CBI on Thursday arrested IPS officer SMH Mirza in the scandal, the first apprehension in the case since the tapes surfaced in 2016. In the footages, persons resembling senior Trinamool Congress leaders are seen accepting money from the representatives of a fictitious company in return for favours. Roy, who was then a Trinamool Congress MP, was purportedly shown conversing with Mathew Samuels who claimed to have conducted the sting operation in 2014.

The reconstruction was not of any particular visit, but to establish how Mirza used to visit Roy's flat, as he has claimed.

The investigating officer of the Narada sting probe Ranjit Sinha along with a dozen of officers reached Roy's flat around on Sunday. Mirza took the team to the building's entrance, explaining how he used to reach Roy's residence. As the team reached the gate and tried to take the stairs, Mirza stopped them and took the lift to reach Roy's third-floor flat, telling them that was the way he used to go. The officers and Mirza went inside Roy's flat, while he was inside and came out after 30 minutes.

A tape that was released by Samuel in March 2016 showed Mirza talking to Samuel, The CBI sleuths wanted to ascertain whether the room where Samuel was seen sitting with Roy, as seen in the footage, was the BJP leader's Elgin Road flat.

Roy later told reporters that he was ready to cooperate with the agency. "It is absolutely a political ploy by the Trinamool Congress. They have asked each of the accused persons to point fingers at me. But you will never see me taking money from anyone," he said.

Hours later, Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said the CBI was performing the task it had been entrusted with. "CBI should be allowed to perform its duty," Ghosh said.

Mirza, who is in five-day CBI custody, will be produced at a special CBI court on Monday.