Kolkata, Aug. 17 -- The Calcutta High Court on Monday extended till November 30 the interim protection from arrest and other coercive action granted to Trinamool Congress national general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee in the CID probe into alleged forgery of MLAs' signatures.
Justice Kaushik Chanda was told by the state that forensic examination had established that the signatures of three MLAs on a document submitted to the Assembly Speaker were forged.
The CID is probing allegations that signatures of several legislators were fabricated on a purported resolution shown as having been adopted on May 6. The state claimed the document was actually signed by the MLAs on May 19 and alleged that the forgery took place in Abhishek's presence.
The state also referred to statements of five MLAs who allegedly told investigators that their signatures on the document were not genuine. It argued that the forensic findings corroborated the allegations.
However, the court observed that, at this stage, it was not prima facie convinced of Abhishek's involvement in the alleged forgery. The case relates to a document bearing the TMC general secretary's letterhead that was allegedly sent to the Speaker despite the purported resolution not having been adopted on the date mentioned on it.
With the protection extended, the CID probe will continue while the court examines the material collected by the investigating agency and the allegations against the MP.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.