WB HC grants protection from arrest to Mukul Roy till Sept 5 in cheating case

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday granted protection from arrest till September 5 to senior BJP leader Mukul Roy in connection with a case of alleged payout for a railway panel membership.

Roy moved the high court seeking anticipatory bail in the case of cheating filed by one Santu Ganguly against Baban Ghosh, who claims to be a local BJP labour wing leader.

Ganguly alleged in the FIR that Ghosh had taken Roy's name while assuring him membership of a railway panel and accepted a bribe of over Rs 70 lakh from him, the senior BJP leader's lawyer Bikash Bhattacharya said.

Following Ghosh's arrest in the case by the Kolkata Police last week, Roy moved the high court seeking anticipatory bail.

A division bench comprising justices S Munshi and S Dasgupta on Thursday adjourned hearing in the matter on a plea by advocate General Kishore Dutta.

Dutta, appearing for the state, sought time to go through a supplementary affidavit filed by Roy's lawyers on Wednesday.

The division bench said the matter would be heard on September 2 and directed the state government that Roy not be arrested till September 5.