Trinamool MP Abhishek Banerjee was in for a surprise on Saturday when a team of policemen and CRPF officers arrived at his doorstep in Kolkata and began a late-night search operation that began at 3 am and lasted four hours. A video of his exchange with journalists is now circulating, where he can be seen answering questions about the whereabouts of his assistant.
The officers were searching for Sumit Roy, Abhishek’s personal assistant, against whom a fraud case is still pending. The team arrived at around 3 am, allegedly broke the locks to enter Banerjee’s house and searched the house.
“I am not a representative of the investigating body. The answer will be provided by those who conducted the research,” Banerjee can be heard saying in Bengali as he answers journalists’ questions about the whereabouts of his assistant, the video showed. He added: “My entire house was searched, and I am requesting an answer from the officials in the investigation.”
Who is Sumit Roy?
The search operation was reportedly led by a team from Salboni police station in Paschim Medinipur and assisted by Kolkata Police personnel who reached Banerjee’s residence around 3 am.
Sumit Roy, Abhishek’s assistant, was pivotal in this research. According to the news agency PTIHe is wanted in connection with the ongoing investigation into a ‘financial fraud’ case and his phone was last traced to Banerjee’s residence in Kalighat, prompting the search.
During the inspection, former Prime Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee rushed to Abhishek’s residence in Kalighat and stayed there for some time.
Trinamool cries over research
After the search, Abhishek Banerjee claimed that the police forcefully entered his house by breaking the lock. Central forces were also deployed during the operation, which began before dawn and continued until early in the morning.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids at seven places linked to TMC MLA and former minister Madan Mitra in connection with irregularities in civilian recruitment.
Trinamool Congress MP Kirti Azad criticized both the investigations and said: “This is the old modus operandi of the BJP… They are not interested in actually running the government. They will continue to do these things…”
TMC leader Sagarika Ghose also criticized the search of Abhishek’s house and claimed that nothing was found in the seizure report. Part of her tweet read: “No evidence. No wrongdoing. Nothing. Just political vendetta, intimidation and mental torture.”
Abhishek Banerjee has been in the eye of the storm for some time now. The opposition against the MP is quite visible within the TMC, with several leaders, including those close to his aunt and party chief Mamata Banerjee, questioning his leadership.
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