CBI forcing me to name CM: Madan Record voice? Court says ‘no’

Madan Mitra being produced in the Alipore court on Tuesday. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta

TT, Calcutta, Dec 16:Madan Mitra today accused the CBI of coercing him to name Mamata Banerjee as one of the beneficiaries of Saradha’s cash, handing his party the chance to intensify its protests against his arrest.

“The CBI is forcing me to name Mamata Banerjee…. Some 50-odd people are threatening me. They are asking me to name people from the party. The CBI is terrorising me,” the sports and transport minister said in the CBI court at Alipore while pleading for bail.

Mitra’s allegation came within hours of Trinamul MPs staging a walkout in Parliament to protest the “misuse” of the CBI in the Saradha probe.

A CBI source contested Mitra’s claims, saying the agency had not deviated from the norms that protect an accused in custody.

“One of Mitra’s lawyers has been visiting him every day. Had we been coercing him, why did his lawyer not raise the issue in court today? Why was there no word from him on these lines?” asked a senior CBI officer.

CBI sources said the minister might have made the allegation in the courtroom to send the message to his party leadership that he was not buckling under pressure.

Some senior Trinamul leaders said the minister’s statements, which stunned the packed courtroom into silence, would become the rallying point to raise the pitch against the BJP government.

“What Madan said in court is a pointer to how the country’s premiere investigative agency has been reduced to a tool in the hands of political parties in power. A meeting has been called and we will soon hit the streets,” a senior Trinamul leader said.

In the court, Mitra’s appeal against police custody was turned down and his remand extended by three days.

“They (CBI) are trying to mentally murder me. Am I a thief? Am I a robber? I am shattered,” Mitra said in a low but clear and unwavering voice.

“They are trying to record my voice forcibly, using a laptop. They are pressing my vocal cords. Sir, I am not well. I have problems of sleep apnoea and am passing blood through urine. I am being treated for psychiatric problems at the Institute of Psychiatry,” he added.

Arguing for his bail, Mitra said his family has been living in Calcutta for long and added that he would not flee. He named two SSKM doctors who were treating him.

“I will accept whatever punishment you will give but please don’t send me to police custody,” Mitra said.

After hearing the lawyers of the CBI and Mitra for over three hours, judge Haradhan Mukherjee remanded the minister in police custody till December 19. The judge, however, turned down a CBI plea to allow it to record Mitra’s voice for the probe.

The hearing began with the central agency claiming to have seized some “electronic data”, which would be sent to a forensic laboratory for tests.

“We need to record the minister’s voice to check the veracity of the evidence collected. The data have revealed facts that need to be examined,” said Partha Sarathi Dutta, the CBI counsel.

Mitra’s lawyers said one could not be forced to agree to a voice test and that under no circumstance could an accused be coerced to give evidence that could go against him.

Late tonight, CBI sources said they could move a higher court, questioning whether an additional chief judicial magistrate of a lower court could pass an order restraining the agency from collecting a voice sample.

Contempt plea

A contempt application was filed in the Supreme Court today seeking action against Mamata Banerjee and her cabinet colleagues Aroop Biswas and Arup Roy for allegedly instigating Trinamul workers to protest the arrest of party leaders in the Saradha scam.