IPS officer SMH Mirza became the first person to be arrested in the Narada Sting Operation Case. He was arrested by the CBI on Thursday. Mirza was the Superintendent of Police of Burdwan district in West Bengal when the sting operation was conducted. He is allegedly seen on camera accepting bribes on behalf of politicians belonging to the Trinamool Congress.
“Earlier, too, we had questioned him (Mirza) on several occasions. Today, we arrested him following another round of questioning. He is one of the key links in Narada tapes scandal,” a senior official was quoted by PTI as saying.
As per reports, the CBI was not satisfied with Mirza’s answers during the interrogation. He was unable to explain accepting cash during the sting operation. Furthermore, based on the investigation and questioning of other witnesses related to the matter, Mirza was prima facie found to be involved in the alleged illegality. Reportedly, the CBI is currently conducting voice sample testing of a dozen persons caught in the Narada sting operation.
The sting operation was conducted by Mathew Samuels of the Narada News portal. Samuel posed as a businessman and could be seen in the tapes offering money to Trinamool Congress leaders. The video clips span over 52 hours and showed 13 people, including seven MPs, four ministers, one MLA and an IPS officer accepting a total of Rs 60.5 lakh as bribe. While former TMC MP Sultan Ahmed passed away, Mukul Roy and Sovan Chatterjee have joined the BJP since then.