CBI quizzes Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee’s wife

Officers from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) questioned Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee’s wife, Rujira Banerjee, at the couple’s home on Tuesday.

The questioning, in connection with an alleged coal-mining scam in the state, went on for nearly one-and-a-half hours. People close to the Banerjee family insisted Rujira “cooperated with the CBI officers” and the session “went off very well”. There was no official word from the CBI about Tuesday’s session except that the questioning was video-recorded and that officers would be going through Rujira’s responses. Tuesday’s questions could be divided into two parts, CBI insiders said, with the first half-an-hour devoted to “some basic queries about Rujira’s family” and the next hour or so focusing on specific questions related to “identity documents, bank account details, her knowledge about certain individuals and certain transactions”.

The CBI team was led by superintendent of police Biswajit Das and comprised investigating officer Umesh Kumar, who led the questioning of Rujira’s sister, Menka Gambhir, on Monday.

Meanwhile, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made an unscheduled visit to her nephew Abhishek Banerjee’s home before the CBI questioning of his wife in a coal smuggling case.

The Chief Minister met with her nephew, a Trinamool Congress MP, and his family for less than 10 minutes before emerging from the apartment accompanied by Abhishek Banerjee’s daughter – her grand-niece. The girl was seen going back inside.

Moments after Mamata Banerjee’s convoy left, a CBI team of around seven-eight officers arrived to question Abhishek Banerjee’s wife Rujira Banerjee.