Kolkata, June 25 (IANS) Trinamool Congress general secretary and the party’s Lok Sabha member, Abhishek Banerjee, on Thursday approached a single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court challenging the notice from the Criminal Investigation (CID) of the West Bengal Police for the collection of his voice samples on June 30 as directed by a district court in North 24 Parganas district earlier this week.

The collection of the voice samples of Abhishek Banerjee, the nephew of former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, is in connection with an ongoing CID probe in a case in which the Diamond Harbour MP has been accused of inciting violence and threatening Union Home Minister Amit Shah before the recently concluded Assembly polls.

The single-judge bench of Justice Kaushik Chanda had admitted the petition. The first hearing in the matter will be on June 28.

On Wednesday night, a sleuth of the CID personally appeared at the residence of Abhishek Banerjee, and served notice for the collection of his voice samples on June 30 in the presence of a judicial magistrate and forensic experts as directed by the district court.

Earlier this week, based on video footage of Abhishek Banerjee’s alleged statements at a pre-election rally, the CID approached the Bidhannagar Court seeking permission to collect his voice samples. On June 23, the same court granted permission to the CID to collect his voice statements and fixed June 30 as the date for collection.

Banerjee was questioned for six and a half hours at CID headquarters in Bhabani Bhavan, South Kolkata, earlier this month in connection with this case.

Last month, an FIR was registered against him at the Bidhannagar Cyber Crime Police Station, where he was accused of inciting violence and threatening Union Home Minister Amit Shah before the recently concluded Assembly polls.

The case was later handed over to the CID on June 11.

Banerjee is also under CID scrutiny in another case involving a mismatch in signatures of Trinamool legislators on a resolution related to appointments reserved for the opposition bench in the Assembly.

He has already been questioned twice in that matter.

With every passing day, things are getting tough for Abhishek Banerjee. On Wednesday, a single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court turned down his plea for a fast-track hearing on his petition seeking the court’s permission to travel abroad for ophthalmic treatment.

–IANS

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