Trinamool turncoat and now a key BJP face, Suevndu Adhikari, who was summoned by the CID asking him to be present in their Bhawani Bhawan office on Monday in connection with the death of his bodyguard Subhabrata Chakraborty under mysterious circumstances in 2018, told the probe agency via e-mail that he would not be able to present himself because of his pre-scheduled political programs.
Confirming the email, a senior CID officer said that the agency is likely to issue fresh summons against the BJP leader. “His statement is very crucial for the investigation and it is impossible to come to any conclusion in this case without his statement. So there is a possibility that the CID will again issue a summons”.
On Friday the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) summoned Adhikari at the CID headquarters here at 11 a.m. Subhabrata Chakraborty allegedly shot himself dead in a police barrack in Purba Medinipur’s Contai in 2018.
As a State Armed Police personnel, Chakraborty was part of the Adhikari’s security team who was then a Trinamool Congress MP.
The death of Chakraborty took a significant turn when, in July this year, after Adhikari switched camp and joined BJP, Suparna Chakraborty, wife of Subhabrata Chakraborty lodged a complaint with Kanthi police station demanding a probe into her husband’s death.
A fresh probe was launched by West Bengal Police after registering the case under sections 302 and 120B of the IPC against unknown persons. CID had taken over the investigation soon after.
As a part of the investigation, a four-member CID team had raided Suvendhu Adhikari’s residence in Purba Medinipur in July this year. The CID officials had reportedly arrived at the Nandigram MLA’s house after interrogating and gathering information from the former co-workers of Shubhabrata Chakraborty.
Previously the CID team recorded the version of Suparna Chakraborty, who reportedly told the investigators that she was scared to report a complaint. Suparna told the investigators that her husband has not committed suicide and “it was a clear case of murder”.
The investigators also spoke with the colleagues and neighbours of Suvendu Adhikari. “The investigation is in a crucial stage and we need to record the statement of Suvendu Adhikari who is an important person in this case. So we have summoned him on Monday to record his statement,” a senior CID officer said earlier.