CBI arrests IPS officer SMH Meerza in Narada case

New Delhi: With trouble mounting for BJP leader Mukul Roy, the CBI on Thursday arrested IPS officer SMH Meerza in connection with the Narada sting operation case, officials here said.

The first arrest in the case comes as the Narada tapes, which were released before the 2016 Assembly elections in West Bengal, showed several leaders of the ruling party allegedly accepting cash amounts.

According to the CBI's preliminary probe, investigators were able to verify from the tapes that Roy had at one point instructed the sting operator, Mathew Samuel to hand over bribe money intended for himself to IPS officer Meerza.

In fact, the tapes had also shown Meerza accepting Rs 5 lakh in cash from the sting operator, who was the owner and editor of Narada News, where the tapes were first released.

While the CBI has laboriously pursued leads pertaining to other leaders purportedly shown in the tape, Roy has been able to evade continued scrutiny in the case since he jumped ship to the BJP within four months of the CBI registering its FIR.

(More details awaited)