'All appears to be propaganda,' says ex-interim CBI chief Nageswara Rao, hours after Kolkata Police raids two locations

Hours after the Kolkata Police raided two locations allegedly linked to M Nageswara Rao on Friday, the former interim CBI chief told news agency ANI, “All that is happening appears to be propaganda.” ANI further reported that Rao issued a press statement dated 30 October, 2018, refuting any link with M/s Angela Mercantile Pvt Ltd, one of the two locations raided by the Kolkata Police on Friday.

Former interim CBI chief M Nageshwar Rao issues a press statement, refuting any link with M/s Angela Mercantile Pvt Ltd which is being raided by Kolkata Police today. pic.twitter.com/g9RfW3Yl4c

— ANI (@ANI) February 8, 2019

The raids were conducted a day after the Ministry of Home Affairs asked the West Bengal government to take action against five IPS officers in the state who participated in state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s dharna in Kolkata on the night of 3 February. It was Rao under whose instruction officers of the central investigating agency landed at the doorstep of the Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar on Sunday evening to interrogate him. The CBI sleuths were later detained by the city police. The incident later stirred a controversy in the capital city of West Bengal, where its Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee went on a three-day strike against Centre, accusing the latter of political vendetta. With inputs from ANI