Kolkata: Immigration officials turned back Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee’s wife Rujira and the couple’s children who were taking a flight to meet her ailing mother in Dubai. ED officials at the airport also handed her a summons, asking her to appear before them at their Kolkata office.
Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee called the immigration action and the subsequent ED summons ‘inhuman’. “A notice is served at the airport asking her (Rujira) to appear (before them) on Thursday. Her mother is very ill. Supreme Court had said she should inform ED if she had to travel. She did that long back. ED could have told her then not to travel,” Mamata said.
ED in Kolkata did not specify the nature of travel restrictions imposed on Rujira; nor did officials specify whether there was any lookout notice on her. Rujira’s lawyers indicated they were contemplating moving SC against ED.
ED officials last questioned Rujira in June 2022 and she went abroad with Abhishek for his eye injury treatment after that, in October 2022.