Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Iqbal Ahmed was on Thursday questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the Narada sting operation case.
Mr. Ahmed, who is also the Kolkata Deputy Mayor, had failed to appear before the agency on an earlier date and had sought time.
Narada News CEO Mathew Samuel, who had masterminded the spy cam investigation against Mr. Ahmed, 10 other TMC leaders and one police officer, was also interrogated by the Kolkata police on Thursday.
A summon was sent to Mr. Samuel after an FIR in connection with an alleged extortion call to a former Bihar MP was registered at the Muchipara police station here. The caller threatened to make public a sting operation footage of the official allegedly accepting bribe if he did not cough up ₹5 crore.
Hotel raided
The police raided the hotel in central Kolkata where the call was purportedly made from and claimed to have collected some evidence.
Mr. Samuel had earlier been asked to appear before the police by April 20, but he had sought time claiming he had been advised bed rest for at least three months after a surgery.
Mr. Ahmed is in a spot for more than one reason. Although he was allegedly caught on camera accepting bribe, Mr. Samuel claimed to have tricked other TMC leaders through Mr. Ahmed. Mr. Samuel had even claimed the MLA had taken money from him for introducing him to the leaders.
The sting operation was conducted by Narada News to expose the corrupt practices of Ministers in the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government. The sting videos, which were released just before the 2016 Assembly elections in the State, had created a political furore. The CBI is probing the matter on a Calcutta High Court order and has registered FIRs against 12 senior TMC leaders, including Rajya Sabha MP Mukul Roy and Lok Sabha MPs Saugata Roy.
(With PTI inputs)