Mamata aide arrested, released on bail in fraud case

A local court on Sunday granted bail to businessman Shibaji Panja, a member of the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's delegation to Bangladesh, after he was arrested from the airport in Kolkata on Saturday night on a look-out notice issued by the Delhi police.

Panja was produced before the court of additional chief judicial magistrate, Barrackpore, which ordered his release on a personal bond of Rs 50,000. Panja's counsel Rajdeep Majumdar claimed before the court that an arrest cannot be made on the basis of look-out notice for alleged crimes which entail imprisonment of seven years or less.

Panja has been accused of cheating and forgery under sections 420 (cheating), 463 (forgery) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of the Indian Penal Code.

Majumdar stated that a copy of the first information report or the case diaryn had also not been sent by Delhi Police along with the look-out notice, which he claimed was mandatory.

Panja had been detained at the airport by a Delhi police team after the team landed in Kolata on Saturday night and then arrested.

Meanwhile, Mamata snapped back at the media when she was asked about the detention, saying she could have put them in jail also.

"I could have put you in jail also, but I did not do that out of goodwill," Mamata said when a newsperson asked her about the detention. Asked about Panja being part of her delegation, a furious Mamata shot back, "Why are you asking me?"

The Trinamool Congress supremo said cases against the businessman had nothing to do with her. "There may be cases against businessmen. It is not related to me," Mamata told newspersons.

Banerjee, who was at the NSCBIAirport on her way to Patna for Nitish Kumar's swearing-in as Bihar chief minister, then moved into the departure area of the airport.