An action plan has been readied to deal with the case.
A day after the Calcutta High Court ordered a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the Narada sting operation which alleged that top TMC leaders including ministers, MPs and MLAs, along with a senior IPS officers accepted money on camera, officials of the Central investigating agency started working on a war footing on Saturday.
A team of CBI officers, led by SP Nagendra Prasad, has begun acting on the the High Court order and a team of eight officials came to collect the devices and other documents relating to the case from the locker of SBI on Strand Road in the morning. After arriving at about 10.30 am in two SUVs, they spent nearly 45 minutes collecting all the digital documents, laptop, pen drive and phone that were used for the operation. CBI officials also took possession of the 428-minute video footage which was shot in the sting operation.
After that the team, carrying the devices and digital documents in two trolley bags, reached the Calcutta High Court to submit a status report and later returned to the CBI office at Nizam Palace.
An action plan has been readied to deal with the case. Sources also said that Narada News CEO Mathew Samuel, who is in Kochi at present, had been contacted and CBI had asked for his editing equipment and said that the agency would require uninterrupted access to his Delhi residence as well as office.
Sources also said that CBI will examine the footage minutely and a transcript of the conversation will be prepared. So far, 47 of the 76 files could be opened and later, if need be, CBI will attempt to open the other files as well.
CBI officials will, in all probability, submit their preliminary report at the High Court on March 21, well within the 72-hour deadline which the HC had given them which began after they submitted the status report at the HC on Saturday. “Post investigation of the video tapes and other evidences it will be decided which sections under the Prevention of Corruption Act would be slapped and who would be required to summoned for questioning,” an official said.
On Friday, a division bench of the Calcutta High Court comprising acting Chief Justice Nishita Mhatre and Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty directed the CBI to take possession of all the devices related to the case which were under the custody of a Special Committee, within 24 hours, initiate preliminary inquiry into the Narada Sting operation and submit a report to the High Court within 72 hours.
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