Kolkata, June 14 (IANS) West Bengal Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officials on Sunday questioned Trinamool Congress National General Secretary and Lok Sabha member Abhishek Banerjee and party MLA Kunal Ghosh face to face in connection with the Assembly signature mismatch case.

After around four hours of questioning, Kunal Ghosh came out of the CID headquarters at Bhabani Bhawan and said that he had cooperated with the investigation. It was Ghosh who revealed that he had been questioned face to face with Abhishek Banerjee by CID officials.

However, Kunal Ghosh did not make any further comments after leaving the CID headquarters. From there, he went straight to the residence of Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee in Kalighat.

However, even after Kunal Ghosh left the CID headquarters, Abhishek Banerjee continued to remain at Bhabani Bhawan and was being questioned by CID officials.

Trinamool Congress National General Secretary and Lok Sabha member Abhishek Banerjee on Sunday afternoon reached the CID headquarters at Bhabani Bhawan to face another round of questioning in the Assembly signature mismatch case.

The CID had asked Banerjee to appear by noon. However, the Trinamool Congress MP reached the CID office before the scheduled time.

The Calcutta High Court had directed Banerjee to cooperate with the investigation by the state police’s intelligence department in the matter. The court had also said that the CID would not take any coercive action against him for the next two weeks.

On Sunday, Banerjee’s vehicle reached the CID office at around 11.43 a.m. He first went to the reception, where he showed his identity card and signed the attendance register before entering the office.

Security was heightened at the Bhabani Bhawan premises, with additional state police personnel and Central forces deployed in the area. Although Sunday was a holiday, CID officials reached the office in the morning.

Earlier, Banerjee had appeared before CID officials for questioning in the same case last Thursday (June 11). He was questioned for around five-and-a-half hours that day. After leaving the CID office at night, the Diamond Harbour MP went to Mamata Banerjee’s residence in Kalighat.

The CID had asked him to appear again on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the CID had also asked Trinamool Congress MLA from Beleghata, Kunal Ghosh, to appear for questioning in the same case on Sunday. Responding to the summons, Ghosh also reached the CID headquarters.

It may be noted that on Monday (June 15), Abhishek Banerjee is scheduled to be questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at its Salt Lake office, on the northern outskirts of Kolkata, in connection with the multi-crore cash-for-school-job case in West Bengal.

The ED had served him a notice in the matter on June 3.

On Tuesday, he is again scheduled to appear at the CID headquarters for questioning in connection with a case in which he has been accused of inciting violence and threatening Union Home Minister Amit Shah before the recently concluded Assembly polls in the state.

CID officials served him a notice in that matter on the evening of June 12.

It is not yet clear whether he will appear before the concerned agencies on Monday and Tuesday.

Banerjee does not have protection from the High Court against police action in these two cases as of now.

–IANS

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