The CID approached the Bankshal Court seeking permission to obtain handwriting specimens from TMC MLAs Baharul Islam, Subhashis Das and Arup Roy. The court approved the request, paving the way for examination of samples.
Bengal Assembly signature mismatch row: CID gets court nod to collect handwriting samples of TMC MLAs. (Representational Image: Getty Images)
The investigation into the West Bengal Assembly signature controversy has entered a new phase, with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) securing court permission to obtain handwriting samples from three Trinamool Congress (TMC) legislators as it intensifies efforts to examine alleged irregularities linked to Assembly documents.
The move comes amid a widening probe into claims of discrepancies in signatures submitted on documents connected to key appointments in the Assembly, a controversy that has triggered political turbulence within the ruling party and drawn the attention of state investigators.
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Officials said the CID approached the Bankshal Court seeking permission to obtain handwriting specimens from Trinamool MLAs Baharul Islam, Subhashis Das and Arup Roy. The court approved the request, paving the way for examination of samples as part of the ongoing investigation.
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The agency is expected to compare the samples with signatures that have come under scrutiny during the probe.
The investigation is being supervised by a special team led by a DIG-rank officer. The probe stems from a complaint lodged by the Secretary of the West Bengal Assembly, who flagged alleged inconsistencies in signatures appearing on documents related to legislative positions.
Based on that complaint, a case was registered at Hare Street Police Station, following which the CID was brought in to assist the investigation.
The development comes against the backdrop of disciplinary action within the Trinamool Congress. On Monday, the party expelled MLAs Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha for alleged anti-party activities.
The action followed claims made by CM Suvendu Adhikari during a press conference at Nabanna, where he stated that Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha had submitted a written complaint to the Speaker regarding the alleged signature forgery issue in the Assembly.
According to Suvendu Adhikari, the complaint subsequently led to the matter being reported to Hare Street Police Station, after which the CID became involved in the case.
The controversy traces its origins to the process of selecting the Leader of the Opposition, deputy leaders and Chief Whip after the Assembly election results were declared on May 4.
At a meeting convened by Mamata Banerjee at her Kalighat residence on May 6, elected legislators reportedly agreed that she would decide the names for the key legislative posts.
Following that meeting, Trinamool Congress announced Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as Leader of the Opposition, Nayna Bandyopadhyay and Asima Patra as deputy leaders, and Firhad Hakim as Chief Whip.
A communication signed by Abhishek Banerjee was later sent to the Assembly Secretariat, but it was not accepted.
The Assembly Secretariat reportedly maintained that the selection of parliamentary party office-bearers should have been formally recorded through a parliamentary party meeting process.
Subsequently, legislators were asked to sign minutes connected to the May 6 meeting during another gathering held on May 19 at Kalighat. Some MLAs later claimed they had been asked to sign documents linked to the earlier meeting, leading to questions over the authenticity of certain signatures.
As part of the investigation, CID officers previously visited the residences of Nayna Bandyopadhyay, Kunal Ghosh, Tapas Maity and Baharul Islam.
The agency also issued a notice to Abhishek Banerjee in connection with the case. He did not appear before investigators on Monday, citing health-related reasons.
With handwriting samples now set to be collected and examined, investigators are expected to focus on establishing whether any signatures were improperly recorded or altered in documents linked to the Assembly nomination process.
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