“Arrest me”, says Mamata Banerjee on reaching CBI’s Nizam Palace office, Trinamool protests outside

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee reached the office of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in central Kolkata’s Nizam Palace, within hours of the arrest of state ministers Firhad Hakim and Subrata Mukherjee. Another Trinamool MLA Madan Mitra was arrested too. The arrests were made in connection with the Narada tapes case which is being probed by the CBI for which chargesheet is expected to be placed in court today.

Banerjee is learned to have visited the CBI office to talk to the lawyers of the Trinamool Congress leaders who were arrested. She is reportedly sitting outside the office of the CBI deputy inspector general (DIG) who is conducting the probe. This is inside the office of the CBI at Nizam Palace on central Kolkata. A Trinamool Congress leader said that Banerjee has demanded that she too should be arrested. Outside, a large number of Trinamool Congress supporters and leaders gathered and were seen protesting.

Former Trinamool minister Sovon Chatterjee, who had later joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but did not contest the 2021 Assembly polls, has also been arrested.

Earlier this morning, Firhad Hakim, Subrata Mukherjee, Madan Mitra and Sovon Chatterjee were taken to the CBI office where they were then arrested after being asked to sign arrest memos.

West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar had earlier sanctioned CBI investigations against Firhad Hakim, Subrata Mukherjee, Madan Mitra and Sovon Chatterjee. The case involves a sting operation in which Trinamool Congress leaders were purportedly seen on camera taking bribes. The operation was carried out in 2014 and released ahead of the 2016 assembly elections in West Bengal.