Kolkata, July 15 (IANS) Trinamool Congress General Secretary and the party’s Lok Sabha member, Abhishek Banerjee, on Wednesday gave his voice samples after being present at Bidhannagar Court in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district in connection with a case of hate speech registered against him after ignoring two consecutive notices from the same district court earlier.

The Diamond Harbour MP and the nephew of former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had no other option this time but to appear at the court and give his voice samples as he was given an ultimatum on this count by a single-judge bench of Calcutta High Court last week.

Last week, the Calcutta High Court’s single-judge bench of Justice Sougata Bhattacharya gave the Diamond Harbour MP an ultimatum to either appear at Bidhannagar Court and give his voice samples or face withdrawal of interim protection from coercive police action, including arrest, till July 31 granted to him earlier in this case.

The case is about the hate speech where he has been accused of making violence-inciting statements and threatening the Union Home Minister Amit Shah at an election campaign rally before the recently concluded Assembly polls.

On Wednesday, Abhishek Banerjee appeared at the court at 11:55 a.m. on Wednesday. The court premises was then covered under blanket security coverage in order to protect him from any probable physical harassment by the public, including egg-tacks, as directed by the Calcutta High Court last week.

Thereafter, the Trinamool Congress General Secretary gave his voice samples to the officers of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of West Bengal Police, which is investigating the hate speech case. He gave the voice samples in presence of a judicial magistrate and forensic experts as was directed by the Bidhannagar Court earlier.

Fortunately, Abhishek Banerjee did not have to face any awkward situation while entering or coming out of the Bidhannagar Court because of elaborate police arrangements there. He also did not comment on any question from the media persons waiting at the court premises then.

–IANS

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