Mamata Banerjee vs CBI: West Bengal governor submits report to home minister on Kolkata police-CBI face-off

After the face-off between Kolkata Police and the CBI on Sunday, West Bengal Governor K N Tripathi has submitted a report to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on the situation that unfolded in the city after CBI officials were allegedly obstructed by the police from questioning Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar in the Saradha chit fund scam.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh (R) with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PTI Photo

KOLKATA: After the face-off between Kolkata Police and the CBI on Sunday, West Bengal Governor K N Tripathi has submitted a report to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on the situation that unfolded in the city after CBI officials were allegedly obstructed by the police from questioning Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar in the Saradha chit fund scam. The contents of the report were, however, not immediately known, PTI reported. "The governor has submitted his report to the MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs). Today, in the morning, he spoke to Union Home Minister Rajanth Singh," sources told PTI. The report was prepared by combining the report of the Special Investigation Branch and the reports submitted to the governor by the state chief secretary and the home secretary late Sunday night, the sources said. The home ministry on Sunday evening received information that CBI officers in Kolkata had experienced "intimidation and threat to personal safety in course of investigation into the Saradha scam being conducted under the directions of the Supreme Court", they said. The ministry has deployed central forces at the CBI office and residential premises of the probe agency officials in the state and it is now "closely monitoring the situation", they said. IANS quoting official sources Singh called up Tripathi late on Sunday to be apprised of the facts of "the unfortunate and unprecedented situation" of Central Bureau of Investigation officers "being manhandled, detained, intimidated and obstructed". Tripathi told Singh that he had summoned Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police seeking "immediate action to resolve the situation", the sources said. The developments are being monitored by the Ministry of Home Affairs. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee began a sit-in on Sunday accusing the Centre of attempting to destabilize the state after the CBI tried to quiz Kolkata Police chief Rajeev Kumar in connection with a ponzi scheme scam. The residence of the CBI's Joint Director was surrounded by Kolkata Police, which led the Home Ministry to deploy paramilitary forces at the office and residential premises of the agency, the sources added.