The three Jharkhand Congress MLAs -- Irfan Ansari from Jamtara, Rajesh Kachhap from Khijri, and Naman Bixal Kongari from Kolebira -- who were nabbed in West Bengal's Howrah with a pile of cash worth Rs 40 lakh on Saturday night have been sent to 10 days police remand after being produced before Howrah session court today.
At the time of reporting, the three Congress MLAs were taken to Bhabani Bhavan for interrogation. A case has been lodged at Panchla police station under section 420 (cheating and fraud), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 171E (bribery).
The Congress MLAs said they were ‘innocent’ and were visiting Kolkata to buy clothes from the Burrabazar area for a tribal festival.
The police sources said that the three MLAs on Friday visited Guwahati to meet Assam Chief Minister Hemanta Biswa Sarma and returned to Kolkata on Saturday. Following the discrepancies in their statements, they were arrested.
After they were arrested, the three MLAs were suspended by Congress and the party claimed that they met Biswa Sarma to topple the government in Jharkhand. The Congress also alleged that the central government through Enforcement Directorate (ED) is threatening several Congress leaders in Jharkhand.
Meanwhile, Jaimangal Singh, Congress MLA from Bermo in Jharkhand has filed a complaint at Argora police station in Ranchi accusing the arrested MLAs of trying to bribe him.
“Irfan Ansari and Rajesh Kachchap want me to come to Kolkata and then take me to Guwahati where, according to them, they will make me meet Himanta Biswa Sarma who will assure me a definite ministerial berth apart from huge amount of money,” read the complaint.
The Chief Minister of Assam, meanwhile, said that several heavyweight Congress leaders are in touch with him.
TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh slammed BJP and said that like Maharashtra, the BJP is trying to topple the government of Jharkhand.
State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said, “The way the TMC is reacting it seems it was the TMC’s money which they were trying to siphon off with the help of Sonia Gandhi and the Congress.”
