Intro
The Calcutta High Court has urged Abhishek Banerjee to provide voice samples amid an ongoing investigation into allegations.
KOLKATA
Legal trouble is growing for Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee. The Calcutta High Court asked why the Diamond Harbour MP is refusing to give voice samples for an ongoing investigation.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) wants these samples to check a video from the recent West Bengal assembly elections. In that video, the leader allegedly made violent threats against a top Union minister during a rally. The CID needs to confirm if the voice in the recording belongs to him to move forward with the case.
Banerjee was ordered by a local court to provide his voice samples in front of a judge and experts. To avoid this, his lawyers asked the High Court for an urgent hearing to stop the process. However, Justice Sougata Bhattacharya refused to hold an emergency session.
The judge pointed out that the leader already has protection from arrest until July 31. Because of this safety, the court wondered why he will not simply help the investigators. Even though Banerjee’s team argued that he already admitted the voice was his, the court did not find this reason enough to stop the testing.
Government lawyers argued that the testing is a must to complete the legal process. They reminded everyone that his protection depends on him fully helping the police. The court agreed, telling the leader to cooperate. The next hearing for his request is now set for July 10.