The special CBI court in Alipore on Tuesday granted conditional permission to the CBI to collect voice samples of Jiban Krishna Saha, the Trinamul MLA from Burwan in Murshidabad arrested for his alleged involvement in irregularities in recruitment in state-aided schools in Bengal.
Responding to the CBI’s appeal for conducting a voice test of the arrested leader, the court said Saha can’t be pressured at any point in time to give his voice sample. The sample have to be collected in the presence of an independent witness.
The CBI had arrested Saha from his Murshidabad residence last Monday after a 36-hour search operation of his house. During the search The CBI recovered two of the MLA’s mobile phones from a pond where they were thrown.
Saha is the third sitting Trinamul MLA to be arrested in this case after Partha Chatterjee, former education minister, and Manik Bhattacharya, the Trinamul MLA from Palashipara in Nadia.
The CBI told the court on Tuesday that over 100 audio files have been recovered from one of Saha’s two mobile phones, which have been sent for forensic examination.
It was vital to check the voice in the files with that Saha for the sake of investigation, the central investigating agency told the court.
“The audio clippings might throw up vital leads relating to the alleged involvement of the accused. It was therefore necessary to have the accused in custody and carry out a voice test,” the CBI counsel told the court.
Saha’s lawyer urged the court for Saha’s judicial custody.
The CBI said apart from collecting Saha’s voice sample, it was necessary to question him further in custody about the documents that have been recovered from his house in Murshidabad.
The central investigating agency has earlier said that during the searches documents relating to primary and upper teachers recruitment and documents containing the list of the candidates and amounts mentioned against them were recovered. The court has extended Saha’s custody with the CBI till April 30.
Fall from bus
A man fell while trying to get off a moving bus on Strand Road on Tuesday afternoon. He is being treated at SSKM Hospital. The driver has been arrested.