Criticising the ruling Trinamool Congress over the brief detention of Narada News CEO Mathew Samuel last night, opposition parties termed it as a "desperate attempt" to hush up the Narada sting operation and save the culprits.
The Trinamool Congress, however, declined to comment on the matter.
"The police administration is so worthless that despite the court's order, they detained Mathew Samuel. They are trying to send out a message that if you try to mess with TMC and bring out their corruption then they will teach them a lesson," BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha told PTI.
"The desperate attempt to detain Mathew Samuel ... Is a manifestation to hush up the Narada graft and save the real accused," CPI(M) West Bengal unit Secretary Suryakanta Mishra said.
Echoing the same views as that of Mishra and Sinha, Leader of opposition Abdul Mannan too criticised the detention and said it only shows the "vindictive attitude" of the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal to hush up the matter at any cost.
"This shows the vindictive attitude of the state government. This only proves how this government is running," Mannan told PTI.
Samuel was released last night after being briefly detained by immigration authorities at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on his arrival from the US following a lookout notice issued against him by the Kolkata police.
A division bench of Calcutta High Court Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice A Banerjee on Friday had ordered an interim stay into the Narada sting operation probe launched by the Kolkata Police till the next date of hearing on August 19.
The lookout notice had been issued before the HC order.
Affirming they would go by the HC directive, Kolkata Police said yesterday, "We respect the order of the hon'ble high court and will abide by the same.
