Diplomatic Correspondent
A political aide of visiting West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was arrested moments after he reach Kolkata airport on his return from his 3-day visit to Bangladesh.
A Kolkata court on Sunday granted bail to businessman Shibaji Panja, a member of the Banerjee's entourage to Bangladesh, after he was arrested from the airport in Kolkata on Saturday night on a look-out notice issued by the Delhi police.
Panja was produced before the court of additional chief judicial magistrate, Barrackpore, which ordered his release on a personal bond of Rs 50,000. Panja's counsel Rajdeep Majumdar claimed before the court that an arrest cannot be made on the basis of look-out notice for alleged crimes which entail imprisonment of seven years or less.
Panja has been accused of cheating and forgery under sections 420 (cheating), 463 (forgery) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of the Indian Penal Code.
Majumdar stated that a copy of the first information report (FIR) had also not been sent by Delhi police along with the look-out notice, which he claimed was mandatory.
Panja had been detained at the airport by a Delhi police team after the team landed in Kolkata on Saturday night.
Earlier another controversial legislator Ahmed Hassan Imran was dropped from the Mamata's entourage following request from Delhi.
Imran is a TMC lawmaker who was appointed to the Rajya Sabha (Upper House). His appointment last year had created uproar as it came just after Indian security agencies dossier had flagged him for being sympathetic of the dreaded Jamaat-e-Islami and also blamed him to destabilise the Awami League government.
Meanwhile, Mamata snapped back at the media when she was asked about the detention, saying she could have put them in jail also.
When asked why Panja was part of her delegation to Bangladesh, a furious Mamata shot back, "Why are you asking me?"
The Trinamool Congress leader said cases against the businessman had nothing to do with her, she told Kolkata journalists on Sunday.