The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of West Bengal Police conducted raids at two key Trinamool Congress (TMC) offices in Kolkata on Tuesday, as part of the ongoing probe into an alleged signature forgery case. The locations included an office near former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's residence in Kalighat and another on Camac Street linked to TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee.
Raids at Kalighat Office
At the Kalighat office, investigators were initially prevented from entering by former TMC Rajya Sabha member Subhasish Chakraborty, who claimed he was temporarily managing the office. However, after a large contingent of Kolkata Police and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel arrived at the scene, CID officers gained entry and began their search operation, despite objections from Chakraborty and his associates.
Resistance at Camac Street Office
A similar situation unfolded at the Camac Street office, where CID officials reportedly faced resistance from staff members upon their arrival on Tuesday afternoon. Police personnel from Shakespeare Sarani Police Station later reached the location, allowing the CID team to enter and commence their search.
At the time of reporting, search operations were ongoing at both the Kalighat party office and the Camac Street office linked to Abhishek Banerjee.
Background of the Case
The searches occurred on the same day that Abhishek Banerjee had been summoned to appear before CID officials at Bhabani Bhavan in south Kolkata by 5 pm. This was in connection with an investigation into alleged mismatched signatures of several TMC MLAs on a key resolution related to Opposition-designated posts in the West Bengal Assembly. The notice issued for Tuesday marked the third consecutive summons served on Abhishek Banerjee in this matter.
According to reports, both Abhishek Banerjee and Mamata Banerjee are currently in New Delhi and attended a meeting of the Opposition INDIA bloc on Monday.
