In an audio clip which has been doing the rounds of social media in West Bengal, two men — allegedly BJP leaders — have been heard discussing using the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to intimidate IPS officers in the state.
According to Bengali daily Anandabazar Patrika, which could not vouch for the legitimacy of the clip, Mukul Roy, a BJP leader from Bengal, has admitted that the voices in the clip are of him and Kailash Vijayvargiya, national general secretary of the party. Roy also alleged that his phone is being tapped and that he would move court over it.
Apart from discussing new recruits—some from Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress—Roy is heard asking whether a CBI threat can be used in Bengal.
The newspaper reports that Roy, in very broken Hindi is heard saying, "Char IPS ko CBI thoda najar dalna hoga. Koi dhyan denge to IPS dar paa jayenge (CBI should keep an eye on four IPS officers. If they pay attention to them, the IPS guys will get scared.)
Roy said this in response to Vijayvargiya's question whether he had any message for BJP president Amit Shah. The BJP general secretary also said that he is visiting Shah soon.
Roy later clarified to the newspaper that he was merely asking for the CBI to hasten the probe against four IPS officers in Bengal. The investigating body is scheduled to question four IPS officers in relation to the Saradha scam.
Roy, formerly a Trinamool Congress office-bearer, is also an accused in the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam.