The Central Bureau of Investigation today issued a notice to a section of officials of panchayat and transport departments to be present before the agency for examination in the Narada case at Nizam Palace next week.
Today’s development came close on the heels of a fresh bout of interrogation of Narada CEO Mathew Samuel a few days back at Nizam Palace, in which he reportedly told the sleuths that a section of officials in the panchayat and transport department led by Mr Subrata Maukherjee and former transport minister Mr Madan Mitra, played a key role in putting him in touch with the two ministers.
A CBI source said that the summons to those officials were necessitated since they were the ones who were also the beneficiaries of the Narada money that had changed hands. The CBI had drawn up a list of officials, said the source, who had accompanied Samuel while introducing him to the ministers concerned.
The sleuths will try to ascertain what the Narada CEO had told them and why they had arranged meetings for him with the ministers concerned. Earlier yesterday, the central agency quizzed the personal assistant ( PA) to former mayor and minister Sovan Chatterjee and recorded his statements on the money that was allegedly handed over to him for safe custody allegedly by the former mayor himself.
The aide of the former mayor, who was allegedly present at the antechamber of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) at the time of the money being allegedly handed over to Mr Chatterjee by Samuel, said the source, is key, since he was the person who was the witness to the entire alleged meeting between the two.