IPS officer Mirza arrested in Narada sting case

Kolkata, Sep 26 (IANS) Making its first arrest in the sensational Narada sting footage case, the CBI on Thursday took into custody IPS officer S.M.H. Mirza - who was allegedly shown in the Narada news portal clips accepting Rs five lakh.

Mirza, earlier grilled nine times in connection with the scam, has been produced before the CBI special court at Bankshall.

The CBI lawyers have prayed for five days of custody for Mirza.

Mirza was the superintendent of police of Burdwan district when the sting operation tape surfaced back in 2016.

In the sting operation conducted by Narada News editor Mathew Samuel, who posed as a businessman, the IPS officer and a number of top Trinamool Congress leaders were purportedly seen taking cash in return for favours.

The central probe agency lodged an FIR on April 17, 2017 against 13 people including Mirza and several state ministers and MPs of ruling Trinamool Congress, a month after the Calcutta High Court ordered the federal agency to conduct a preliminary inquiry in the sting footage case.

The FIR was lodged after the preliminary inquiry revealed prima facie material for registration of a regular case relating to criminal conspiracy to commit a crime (IPC 120B) and under several provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act.

"He was shown accepting an amount of about Rs five lakh from the sting operator," the CBI FIR said about Mirza, referring to the Narada video footage of April 25 and April 27, 2014.

The controversy erupted in election-bound West Bengal in March 2016 when Narada News portal uploaded video footage purportedly showing the Trinamool leaders receiving money in exchange of promising favours to a fictitious company.