Kolkata: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Trinamool MLAs Firhad Hakim, Subrata Mukherjee, and Madan Mitra, and former minister and Kolkata's former Mayor Shovan Chatterjee at its Kolkata office on Monday in the Narada bribery case.
Bengal ministers Firhad Hakim and Subrata Mukherjee were taken to the CBI office here on Monday in connection with the Narada sting operation, officials said.
Senior TMC leader and MLA Madan Mitra and former minister Sovan Chatterjee were also brought to Nizam Palace as part of the probe, they said.
A CBI team along with central forces reached Hakim's Chetla residence in the morning and took him to the probe agency's office, the officials said.
"The CBI has arrested me in the Narada case. We will settle this matter in court," Hakim, the state's Transport and Housing Minister claimed.
CBI had registered instant case on April 16, 2017, on orders of Calcutta High Court. The CBI official said that the accused have been charged for bribery of around Rs 5 lakh while former mayor Shovan Mukherjee has been charged for taking bribery of Rs 4 lakh.
The ministers are being interrogated by the CBI Officials. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has also reached the CBI office.
A huge number of TMC workers have gathered outside BJP's office and are raising slogans against the Prime Minister and BJP leader Suvendu Adhirkari. Heavy security has been deployed and barricading have been done to keep the situation under control.
Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar had recently sanctioned prosecution against Hakim and other senior leaders of the TMC, including Mitra and Mukherjee.
The Narada sting tapes, made public before the 2016 assembly elections in Bengal, were claimed to have been shot in 2014, and people resembling TMC ministers, MPs, and MLAs were allegedly seen in the video taking bribes in lieu of favoured promises.
All four were ministers in the previous Mamata Banerjee government when the Narada bribery tapes were released in 2014.
While Firhad Hakim, Subrata Mukherjee, and Madan Mitra have been re-elected as TMC MLAs in the just-concluded assembly elections, Sovan Chatterjee, who left the TMC to join the BJP, has severed links with both the camps.
On being asked about the recent development, TMC has claimed that it is a conspiracy by BJP to topple the Mamata Banerjee government in Bengal and has called Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankar as 'BJP's Agent'.
TMC spokesperson Manojit Mondal has alleged that BJP wants to destabilize the state government calling it “political vendetta “
However, Senior BJP leader Dilip Ghosh has said that CBI is doing its job.