Calcutta High Court stays Kolkata Police investigation on Narada sting

A Division Bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur has stayed the probe while the hearing of the Public Interest Litigation is going on. The next hearing in this connection is on August 19. The report of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) from Chandigarh has been submitted before the court on Friday.

The Division Bench did not disclose the findings of the CFSL after stating it as a sensitive one. It may be mentioned that cell phone, laptop and pen drive of the CEO of Narada News, Mathew Samuel were sent to the CFSL for forensic test to assess whether the footages were original.

The High Court had ordered forensic tests of all the articles.

It may be mentioned that the city police had initiated a probe in this connection following a meeting held in Nabanna. The city police had also formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to find out the truth behind the sting operation.

The SIT had summoned the CEO of Narada News twice to visit the city police’s headquarters at Lalbazar. But he didn’t turn up. Finally the police had moved to the Bankshall Court and the court had directed Samuel to visit Lalbazar. In the meantime, his counsel Arunabha Ghosh had moved before the Calcutta High Court on July 25 and submitted a petition questioning the validity of the probe undertaken by the Kolkata Police of the sting operation which is a sub-judice public interest litigation.

Thus, according to the rank and file of the Kolkata Police, Friday’s order of the Calcutta High Court has given relief to Samuel.

The reason being the investigating officers had unearthed a transaction of some crore to his Delhi account from the bank account of a politician and businessman in Uttar Pradesh.