TMC Split: CID Searches Mamata Banerjee’s Kalighat Residence Over Forged Signature Row

A state CID team on Tuesday entered Trinamool Congress’s central party office-cum-residence of party supremo Mamata Banerjee in the Kalighat area here, following a brief standoff with security personnel and a party leader, as part of its probe into the controversy surrounding alleged forged signatures of TMC MLAs, which has triggered a split in the party.

According to PTI, the high-stakes search at 30B Harish Chatterjee Street marks a critical turn in the internal rebellion engulfing the TMC, which erupted after 58 of the party’s 80 MLAs defied the leadership to back expelled legislator Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of the Opposition over official nominee Sovandeb Chattopadhyay. The rebel faction eventually wrested control of the legislature party, securing official recognition from the Assembly Speaker and causing the first-ever split in the TMC since its formation in 1998. The CID is currently investigating allegations that the proposal submitted to the Speaker contained forged signatures of several legislators.

Officials of the state investigating agency, accompanied by personnel from the Kalighat police station and a large contingent of women police personnel, arrived at the party's central office around late afternoon, sources said.

The CID's move comes days after the agency served notices seeking information related to the alleged forging of signatures of TMC legislators on a proposal submitted to the Assembly Speaker for recognition of the Leader of Opposition.

According to CID officials present at the spot, the search was sought on the basis of a reply submitted by TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee to an earlier notice issued by the agency.

"In his response, Abhishek Banerjee stated that signatures of MLAs were collected at the party's central office at 30B Harish Chatterjee Street. Based on that statement, we have come here as part of the investigation," a CID officer said.

Abhishek Banerjee, who is presently in New Delhi along with Mamata Banerjee, has been summoned by the CID to appear before it in the case by 5 pm on Tuesday.

Initially, the investigating team was prevented from entering the premises, leading to a brief standoff with security personnel posted at the complex.

TMC leader and former MP Subhasish Chakraborty had earlier said the party would not permit a search in the absence of Abhishek Banerjee.

"We have not allowed the CID to enter the premises in the absence of Abhishek Banerjee. Once he comes, the CID can come and search the house," Chakraborty told reporters.

However, the situation changed later in the afternoon when the CID called in a larger police contingent and entered the premises despite what officials described as "mild resistance" from security personnel stationed there.

Senior officers from the Kalighat police station rushed to the spot and were seen arguing with the security staff, who are attached to the Kolkata Police. The officers reportedly instructed them not to obstruct the search operation being carried out by the investigating agency, PTI reported.

Sources said the CID team subsequently entered the residence-cum-office complex and began its search and verification exercise.

In a related development, another CID team visited Abhishek Banerjee's office on Camac Street as part of the ongoing investigation.

PTI reported that the development marks a fresh twist in the forged-signature case that has snowballed into the biggest internal crisis in the TMC's 28-year history.

The controversy erupted after a proposal sent to the Speaker seeking recognition of senior TMC MLA Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as Leader of Opposition allegedly contained forged signatures of several legislators. The allegations led to the registration of an FIR and a CID investigation.

The rebellion traces its immediate origins to the dispute over the selection of the Leader of Opposition after the Assembly elections. The CID's simultaneous visits to the party's Kalighat headquarters and Abhishek Banerjee's office are being viewed as a significant escalation in the probe into the alleged forgery that lies at the heart of the political turmoil engulfing the ruling party.

(With inputs from PTI)