Popular actor and Trinamool Congress member of Parliament Dev Adhikari has been issued a notice by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for alleged involvement in a multi-crore cattle-smuggling racket along the border with Bangladesh.
According to a report in the Hindustan Times, an English daily, Adhikari has been asked to appear before the investigating committee on 15 February at the CBI's Nizam Palace office.
Reacting to the report, TMC spokesperson Biswajit Deb, a former advocate general of Nagaland, said, "The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been using the CBI and other central agencies against TMC leaders to exert pressure. It did not work in the assembly polls [in April-May 2021].
"Now they are using the CBI in view of the upcoming civic elections. Dev has become a target. But such tactics will not work. The TMC will sweep the polls because of its popularity.”
Adhikari was elected twice in succession, in 2014 and 2019, from the Ghatal constituency straddling East and West Midnapore districts.
On the work front Adhikari and his partner and actress Rukmini Maitra are awaiting the release of their romantic multi-period film Kishmish on 29 April. Last month both contracted COVID-19 but got through it without much trouble.
Last year Adhikari was seen in two films, the historical sports biopic Golondaaj, which was released in theatres for Durga Puja, and the sentimental comedy drama Tonic, which was released in December.