The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday carried out voice sample tests of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar in connection with Narada sting operation. The TMC MP from Barasat Lok Sabha constituency, who was seen accepting cash from Narada news portal editor Mathew Samuel in a purported video footage released just before the state Assembly polls in 2016, has been evading summons by the agency. State Transport Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who was also summoned, sought time from the CBI, citing a prior appointment on Thursday. The CBI said Adhikari has to submit his voice sample by this week. Ghosh Dastidar is among the 10 leaders and ministers of the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC who have been summoned by the CBI for voice sample tests. The CBI is carrying out the voice sample tests to determine the veracity of the conversations, which Samuel had with them in the purported video recordings. Over the past two weeks, several TMC ministers and leaders, including Subrata Mukherjee, Sougata Roy and Madan Mitra, have been subjected to voice sample tests in connection with the purported sting operation. In the sting operation conducted in 2014, Samuel, posing as a businessman, was seen approaching the TMC ministers and leaders to get favours and in return offered them cash. Samuel had released the recordings just before the Assembly polls in 2016, showing people resembling senior TMC leaders accepting money.
