KOLKATA: TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee has been summoned by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in three separate cases between Sunday and Tuesday, officials confirmed on Saturday. According to officials, Banerjee has been asked to appear before the CID on Sunday in connection with the “signature gate” case involving alleged forgery of MLA signatures. Fellow MLAs Kunal Ghosh and Madan Mitra, who have so far shown allegiance to the Mamata Banerjee faction, have also been called by the CID in the same case on Sunday.
Hate Speech Complaint Filed
On Saturday, a fresh hate speech complaint against Abhishek Banerjee was lodged at the Siliguri Cyber Crime Police Station concerning a pre-poll speech he delivered. Incidentally, the CID is already investigating a similar complaint filed at Baguiati Police Station earlier this month, for which he has been summoned to Bhavani Bhavan on Tuesday.
ED Summons in Recruitment Scam
On Monday, Abhishek is scheduled to appear before the ED in connection with the West Bengal primary school recruitment irregularities case. On Tuesday, he has been summoned by CID officers at Bhavani Bhavan regarding the pre-poll hate speech complaint.
Pre-Dawn Search at Residence
Meanwhile, a joint team of Kolkata Police and Paschim Medinipur Police, accompanied by central security forces, conducted a pre-dawn search operation at Abhishek Banerjee’s Kalighat residence on Saturday, triggering a major political controversy in West Bengal. According to police sources, officers arrived at the Kalighat road residence around 3 am and called out to the occupants. When there was no response, the team allegedly waited for four hours before calling in disaster management group personnel. They broke open locks at 6:30 am to enter the premises and carried out a one-and-a-half-hour search that continued for several hours.
Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee rushed to the spot after learning about the operation and left the home around 8 am after the police had departed. Police officials stated that the search was linked to a case registered at Salboni police station in Paschim Medinipur district. Investigators claimed they were looking for a close aide of Abhishek, Sumit Roy, who is wanted in a land scam-related case. Police said Roy’s name emerged during the interrogation of former Midnapore MLA and district party president Sujoy Hazra. Sources indicated that a money trail was found between Hazra and Roy, and tracing Roy’s tower location led them to Abhishek Banerjee’s home.
Political Reactions
After the police left, a visibly irritated Abhishek Banerjee came out of his home and told reporters: “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?” Reacting to the raids, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose posted on X a copy of the seizure report that clearly stated nothing was found at the home. She wrote: “3am Saturday June 13. Police arrive at Abhishek Banerjee’s @abhishekaitc’s Kalighat residence in Kolkata. 5am: Disaster Management team called in to break open locks. 6:30 AM: Search begins, from second floor to terrace, lasting 90 minutes. Outcome? Seizure report says: NIL. No evidence. No wrongdoing. NOTHING. Just political vendetta, intimidation and mental torture. Operation Lotus is targeting every leader who refuses to surrender to the BJP’s diktat. Disgraceful attack on an opposition leader...”
