Kolkata/Midnapore: In a dramatic early morning operation on Saturday, police from Kalighat and Salboni stations broke open locks to enter Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee's residence on Kalighat Road. The search was for his personal assistant, Sumit Roy, who is an accused in a corruption case linked to a land deal in West Midnapore.
Mamata Banerjee Rushes to Nephew's Home
Trinamool Congress chief and former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee rushed to her nephew's home around 6:30 am upon learning of the police breaking in. She remained there throughout the search operation and left only after the police departed around 8 am.
Police Account of the Search
A senior Salboni police officer explained, "We went to the MP's residence around 3 am after tracking Roy through his cell phone tower location. We waited for over three hours but no one opened the door, forcing us to call disaster management group personnel, who brought gas cutters to break open the locks." The officer added that Roy was not found at Abhishek's residence. Roy lives in Mahabirtala, not far from Kalighat.
Multiple Cases Against Abhishek Banerjee
The Saturday morning drama is yet another indication of the net closing in on Abhishek, who is now accused in multiple cases, ranging from the Signgate controversy and his poll campaign speeches to a 2018 political assault case and a 2020 Amphan relief corruption case. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had earlier implicated him in several cases, spanning coal-smuggling and cattle-smuggling to school recruitment scam.
Abhishek had spent 5 hours and 30 minutes being grilled by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at its Bhawani Bhavan headquarters on Thursday following a Calcutta High Court order in the forged signature case. Over the next three days, he will have to appear before CID and ED in three separate cases: forged signatures (Sunday noon, CID), state primary school recruitment irregularities (Monday, ED), and pre-poll hate speech (Tuesday, CID).
Details of the Raid
The early morning raid at his Kalighat home came after a 2 am general diary at Kalighat police station by Salboni cops. A large posse of male and female police officers along with central force personnel then reached Abhishek's home in search of Roy.
Sources said Roy's name surfaced during the interrogation of former Midnapore MLA and Trinamool functionary Sujoy Hazra, who was arrested on June 6 following a complaint by a businessman, Sheikh Imran. Imran alleged that Hazra had demanded Rs 10 lakh from him in 2021 over a land deal in Sitanathpur.
Police are also probing a separate complaint against Roy for allegedly seeking money from TMC functionaries promising them election tickets.
Abhishek's Reaction
After the police left around 8 am, a visibly irritated Abhishek came out of his home and told newspersons: "They broke open the lock, entered the house and searched every room. You can ask the investigating agencies about the search — whether I have hidden anything inside."
Political Reactions
Trinamool's Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose posted a copy of the 'Nil' seizure report on X and said, "Seizure report says: NIL. No evidence. No wrongdoing. Nothing. Just political vendetta, intimidation, and mental torture. Operation Lotus is targeting everyone who refuses to surrender to BJP's diktat. Disgraceful attack on an opposition leader..."
Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar claimed Abhishek Banerjee's PA "must have taken money from someone, and once an FIR is registered, police will obviously swing into action."
Local Residents Witness Unprecedented Scenes
For residents of Kalighat's Patuapara, the day started before dawn as commotion outside the VIP residence woke them up. The owner of a shop across Abhishek's house said, "I saw lots of cops on the road and realised a raid was on inside Abhishek's home. After a while, I saw the former CM enter the house. I have been running this shop for over three decades but have never seen such scenes before."
