West Bengal: Police Search Abhishek's Kolkata Residence for Over 4 hours

In a dramatic pre-dawn operation that triggered a fresh political storm in West Bengal, police personnel, accompanied by central forces, conducted a raid at TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee's residence here on Saturday in connection with an alleged financial fraud, officials said.

The operation, led by a team from Paschim Medinipur's Salboni Police station and assisted by Kolkata Police personnel, began shortly after 3 am and continued for more than four hours, triggering sharp reactions from the TMC.

The sudden police action prompted former chief minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee to rush to Abhishek's residence after being informed about the development.

According to the police, officers repeatedly knocked on the doors of Banerjee's Kalighat residence but received no response.

The TMC alleged that the police personnel broke open a lock and entered the premises to carry out the search operation.

Coming out of the house later, Abhishek Banerjee alleged that police personnel had forcibly entered the residence after breaking open a lock and searched the entire premises.

"They broke the lock and searched the entire house," he told reporters.

The premises in Kalighat's Patuapara area remained heavily guarded throughout the operation, with central forces cordoning off the neighbourhood while personnel from Kalighat and Bhabanipur police stations assisted the search team.

Police officers said the search was linked to an ongoing investigation into a financial fraud case registered at Salboni Police Station in Paschim Medinipur district. However, they declined to disclose further details about the nature of the allegations or the specific evidence being sought.

According to the authorities concerned, the police were searching for the TMC MP's personal assistant in connection with the ongoing investigation.

Police sources said personnel, including women officers, participated in the search. At one point during the operation, some officers briefly stepped out of the residence for discussions before re-entering and continuing the exercise.

As news of the search spread, Mamata Banerjee rushed to the residence and remained there for a considerable period, closely monitoring developments. Her arrival heightened political activity in the area, with TMC workers and supporters gathering near the house.

The police personnel left Abhishek Banerjee's house this morning, but it was not immediately known whether any documents or materials were seized during the search.

The development came barely two days after the West Bengal CID questioned Banerjee in connection with the alleged forged-signature case linked to the state assembly and amid a series of fresh summons issued to him by multiple investigating agencies.

Banerjee was also summoned for a second round of questioning on June 14 in connection with the alleged signature forgery case after the state CID sleuths were reportedly dissatisfied with his responses during questioning at the department headquarters two days ago.

The Calcutta High Court had directed Banerjee to cooperate with investigators probing the assembly signature forgery case, and observed that the CID would not take any coercive action against Banerjee for two weeks.

On Friday, CID officers again visited his Kalighat residence to serve a notice in connection with a cyber complaint lodged over certain remarks allegedly made by him. After initially finding him unavailable, investigators later handed over the notice when he returned home.

Banerjee has been asked to appear before the CID on June 16 in connection with the cyber case.

The TMC Diamond Harbour MP stated publicly that he would cooperate with both investigations.

In addition, the Enforcement Directorate has summoned him on June 15 in connection with its probe into the alleged primary school recruitment irregularities case.

The pre-dawn search on Saturday has intensified the political heat in the state, with sections of the TMC alleging that Banerjee was being selectively targeted through successive investigations.

The ruling BJP, however, maintained that investigative agencies were merely following due process and that no individual was above the law.