Mamata Banerjee stages protest at CBI office in Kolkata, violence erupts over arrest of TMC leaders

Banerjee rushed to the 15th floor of the ‘Nizam Palace’ that houses CBI’s anti-corruption cell and asserted that she would not leave until the leaders are released.

Credit: IANS

Kolkata: Following the arrest of four TMC leaders, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday (May 17) sat in protest outside the CBI office in Kolkata.

She rushed to the 15th floor of the ‘Nizam Palace’ that houses CBI’s anti-corruption cell and asserted that she would not leave until the leaders are released.

“Didi (Banerjee) will not leave this CBI office until her party colleagues are released or until she is also arrested,” Banerjee’s spokesperson, lawyer Anindyo Raut was quoted as saying by IANS.

Meanwhile, violence erupted outside the office as well as other locations in the city as thousands of TMC supporters staged a protest. Reports of stone pelting at central para-military forces have also surfaced.

Earlier today, the CBI arrested West Bengal cabinet ministers Firhad Hakim and Subrata Mukherjee along with TMC MLA Madan Mitra and ex-West Bengal minister Sovan Chatterjee in connection with the Narada case.

The probe agency will submit a chargesheet and produce them before the jurisdictional court.

Besides them, the Prosecution Sanction has been received from the Ministry of Home Affairs regarding SMH Meerza, IPS (SPS), the then SP, for having seen to have received illegal gratification of over Rs five lakhs. Meerza, notably, had already been arrested and is presently out on bail.

The arrest comes a week after West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar accorded sanction to prosecute the four former TMC ministers.