Kolkata, Feb 26 (IANS) Trinamool Congress General Secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee’s lawyer on Wednesday accused the central investigating agencies of making “misleading and unsubstantiated” claims to “tarnish the reputation” of his client.
In a statement, lawyer Sanjay Basu termed the latest charge sheet by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the primary teacher recruitment case as “nothing more than a fishing expedition aimed at harassing” Banerjee.
“The CBI has failed to provide a shred of corroborative evidence, with no supporting documents appended to its claims. This is yet another instance of my client being unjustly targeted,” the statement read.
The lawyer claimed that despite his client’s cooperation with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the (CBI), appearing whenever summoned and providing all necessary documents, the latter agency has resorted to baseless allegations.
“Notably, the ED, responsible for investigating alleged proceeds of crime, has not filed any charge sheet against my client, underscoring the absence of incriminating material against him,” the press statement read.
Basu had also noted that although previously the ED attempted to implicate his client but failed to do so since the Calcutta High Court ruled against it after finding no material evidence.
Now, Basu had claimed in the press statement, after failing through the ED, political forces have turned to the CBI, misusing central agencies to push their agenda and the latest charge sheet by CBI is a desperate bid to create suspicion despite the glaring lack of evidence.
“The CBI’s politically motivated narrative is a blatant attempt to tarnish Abhishek Banerjee’s reputation. By inserting unverified statements into a case concerning others, the agency has raised serious concerns about the fairness of its investigation,” the statement read, adding that the Trinamool leader is not intimidated by these baseless allegations and will fight relentlessly to expose this conspiracy, safeguard and integrity and ensure that justice prevails.
–IANS
src/vd