DIDI FURIOUS AS CBI BOOKS MORE LEADERS

RAJIB CHOWDHURI | DC KOLKATA, APRIL 17 In a major blow to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamul, the CBI on Monday registered an FIR against a dozen Trinamul leaders and a serving IPS officer over the Narada sting operation exactly a month after the Calcutta high court directed it to probe the allegations that they had taken bribes in cash in exchange for favours.

Politicians booked in the case include six MPs. ■

TRINAMUL LEADERS BOOKED In a major blow to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamul members, the Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday registered an FIR against a dozen Trinamul leaders and a serving IPS officer over the Narada sting operation.

This was exactly a month after the Calcutta High Court directed it to probe the allegations that they had taken bribes in cash in exchange for favours.

The politicians booked in the case include six Trinamul MPs — Sougata Roy, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Sultan Ahmed, Prasun Banerjee, Aparupa Poddar and Mukul Roy; four Trinamul ministers in the West Bengal government — Sovan Chatterjee (also Kolkata mayor), Subrata Mukherjee, Shubhendu Adhikari (who was caught in the sting while he was an MP) and Firhad Hakim; Trinamul MLA Iqbal Ahmed, brother of MP Iqbal Ahmed; and Saradha chit fund scam accused Madan Mitra, a former Trinamul MLA and minister, sources revealed.

Official sources said that this is perhaps the first time when so many heavyweight politicians of a ruling party in the state have been booked at one go in a corruption case. DC CORRESPONDENT KOLKATA, APRIL 17