In an apparent counter-offensive against ED summons to Abhishek Banerjee in a money-laundering case the Bengal Police has summoned State Opposition Leader Suvendu Adhikari in a three-year-old unnatural death case.
Adhikari who has been asked to appear before the CID sleuths at Bhavani Bhavan in Kolkata is likely to be grilled by a team of five senior officials who are reportedly ready with a 43-page questionnaire, sources said.
Reacting to the CID summons Adhikari said he would not succumb to any pressure from the State Government which has been trying to scare many opposition workers and leaders to join their ranks. “There is no point scaring me … I have been made of a different mettle … I have nothing to lose or gain from politics … My only attachment my are parents who have taught me to be on the side of the truth … I am confident of myself,” he said.
Adhikari has been summoned by the CID which is investigating the case of unnatural death of his former security guard Subhankar Chakrabarty who allegedly committed suicide three years ago.
At that time Adhikari was a powerful minister in Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s cabinet. A former Man Friday of Banerjee he quit the Trinamool months before the Assembly elections to join the BJP.
After the TMC roared back to power in May this year a fresh case was filed against implicating a number of people including Adhikari.
The family members of the deceased claimed that he had not committed suicide but was murdered. Adhikari’s driver has also been summoned for questioning by the CID.