TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee’s personal assistant Sumit Roy was arrested by the West Bengal CID on Thursday, shortly after the Supreme Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea in the Salboni land scam case.

Roy was arrested from Banerjee’s Kalighat residence in connection with the investigation into the alleged illegal sale of government land in Salboni, officials said.

The arrest followed a key Supreme Court ruling earlier in the day. A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana refused to grant Roy protection from arrest and also vacated an earlier order that had stayed his arrest on August 6.

The ruling cleared the way for the CID to take Roy into custody for interrogation in the case.

What is the Salboni land case?

The case concerns allegations of an illegal sale of government land in Salboni, with the proceeds allegedly being deposited into the Trinamool Congress account.

The prosecution has alleged that forged title deeds relating to government land were uncovered during the investigation. It has also alleged that the transfer of the land took place with the involvement of local political leaders and influential persons.

The case was registered by Salboni police under penal provisions dealing with cheating, criminal breach of trust, forgery, use of forged documents and criminal conspiracy.

Roy had earlier received protection from arrest

Roy had previously been summoned by the West Bengal CID several times in connection with the investigation.

The Supreme Court had earlier stayed his arrest and directed him to cooperate with the probe. That protection was withdrawn on Thursday after the court rejected his anticipatory bail plea.

Roy had moved the Supreme Court after the Calcutta High Court rejected his pre-arrest bail plea on August 3.

During Thursday’s hearing, senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan appeared for Roy, while Solicitor General Tushar Mehta represented the state government.

The state had opposed interim protection and argued that Roy’s custodial interrogation was necessary for the investigation.

With agency inputs