The former railway minister sought more time to appear before the Central Bureau of Investigation

BJP leader Mukul Roy today cited "preoccupations" as the reason for his non-appearance before the CBI, which had summoned him for questioning in connection with Narada tapes scandal, agency sources said.

The former railway minister sought more time to appear before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

"Roy informed the CBI about his inability to visit today owing to his preoccupations. He has been asked to appear before the probe team on Saturday," a source said.

The agency on Thursday arrested senior IPS officer SMH Mirza in the scandal, the first apprehension in the case since the tapes surfaced in 2016.

In the footages, persons resembling senior Trinamool Congress leaders are seen accepting money from the representatives of a fictitious company in return for favours.

Mr Roy, who was then the TMC MP, was purportedly shown conversing with Mathew Samuels who claimed to have conducted the sting operation in 2014.

The probe agency is yet to conduct a voice sample test of Roy to ascertain the veracity of the footages, which was released just before the assembly polls in 2016.