CID grills Bharati Ghosh again over Daspur case

Kolkata: Former IPS officer Bharati Ghosh was interrogated by the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Friday.

Sources informed that CID had served a notice at her Naktala home in Kolkata but Ghosh was not there. Her husband MAV Raju refused to receive the notice.

Later, Ghosh informed CID that she was not able to attend the call as she was busy with election-related work. Following her intimation on Thursday, a CID team went to her home at Daspur in West Midnapore.

After Ghosh's name was announced by BJP as their candidate from Ghatal constituency, the state government had appealed to the Supreme Court to ban her from entering Bengal.

Subsequently, the apex court passed an order last week, stating that Ghosh cannot be arrested but she can be interrogated in connection with the case where she has been an accused. The apex court also directed Ghosh to intimate the state about her contact number and whereabouts.

On Friday afternoon, a team from CID went to Ghosh's rented house in Daspur. She was interrogated in connection with the extortion case lodged against her at the Daspur police station. However, CID officials did not disclose anything regarding the interrogation

as it may hamper the investigation process.

Earlier during March this year, Ghosh was granted protection from arrest by the Supreme Court. Following the stay on her arrest, Ghosh appeared before the Midnapore District Court, responding to a summon in connection with the Daspur extortion case.

CID raids were started following a case of extortion and criminal conspiracy which was initiated in West Midnapore's Daspur during February last year after gold trader Chandan Majhi lodged a complaint against some police officers in the district, who were reportedly close to the former SP Ghosh.

The sleuths had earlier seized more than Rs 2.4 crore in cash and several important government documents while raiding a number of flats in an apartment at Kolkata's Madurdaha.

A huge amount of unaccounted cash was also seized from the house of several police officers named in the FIR. Ghosh's husband Raju was also arrested last year in this connection.