Kolkata, 10 November (H.S.) : The Calcutta High Court has declined to grant urgent relief on a writ petition filed by the wife of Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee's personal assistant (PA), Sumit Roy. The petition sought immediate protection for Roy, expressing serious apprehensions of a possible fake encounter. A vacation bench presided over by Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya directed that the matter be placed before a regular bench after the court reopens.

During the hearing, Advocate General S.N. Mitra, representing the state government, informed the court that the petitioner's husband is already in police custody and that a thorough investigation is currently underway.

The apprehension of the petitioner, Susmita Ghosh, stems from allegations that Roy was threatened with a fake encounter while in police custody. It is alleged that this pressure is being exerted to compel him into confessing that he had stashed Rs 1.02 crore at an old premises previously associated with the Trinamool Congress in Diamond Harbour.

According to the petition, Roy was recently taken to the said premises, where he allegedly witnessed police officials arranging and counting bundles of currency notes. The plea claims he was subsequently made to wear a black mask and forced to stand in front of the seized cash while the Additional Superintendent of Police (Zonal) addressed a press conference announcing the recovery.

The petition further alleges that these criminal proceedings were initiated against Roy as part of a political vendetta aimed at targeting TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, following the change of power in West Bengal on May 4.

Seeking judicial intervention, Ghosh appealed to the court for the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising independent police officers, functioning under the supervision of a retired judge of the Calcutta High Court. The SIT was requested to probe the allegations of custodial intimidation, the fabrication and planting of evidence, and coercion to extract confessional statements.

However, after taking on record the state government's submission that Roy is securely in custody and the investigation is actively proceeding, the court forwarded the matter to a regular bench for further hearings.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh