The major drama unfolded in Kolkata early on Saturday when West Bengal Police, along with Central forces, reached Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee’s residence at 2 am to conduct searches while searching for his personal aide Sumit Roy in a fraud case. Abhishek’s late night surprise took former West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee to her nephew’s house in Kalighat.
The search reportedly continued for hours and Mamata remained there until the police ended the search.
The operation was led by a team from Salboni police station in Paschim Medinipur and became another flashpoint between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP, with the former alleging a “political vendetta” and the latter defending the action, saying the forces were only doing their job.
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Assistant Abhishek Banerjee at the Search Operations Centre
The major operation was conducted primarily to arrest Abhishek’s personal assistant Sumit Roy, who is wanted in a financial fraud case. Police sources told news agency PTI that Roy’s location was last traced to Abhishek’s residence in Kalighat, prompting immediate action.
Officials against TMC
According to officials, they had to wait outside Abhishek’s house for nearly four hours after they did not receive any response despite knocking on his doors repeatedly. However, the TMC claimed that the lock was broken and the police entered the building to conduct a search.
“They broke the lock and searched the entire house,” Abhishek said while speaking to the media after the search ended at around 7.30 am.
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When asked if the police found Roy at his home, he said: “You should ask this question to the police who searched my house thoroughly. I am not the police spokesman.”
According to the sources mentioned in the report, the police did not seize anything during the search and left as Roy was not found there.
Tight security measures were deployed around Abhishek’s house during the search operation. However, the police refused to comment on the evidence they were seeking and provide further details about the case.
Abhishek Banerjee is facing scrutiny one after another
Last night’s surprise raid was the latest among the many problems that Abhishek Banerjee has faced in the past few days, as he has been on the radar of several investigating agencies. Two days ago, the state CID had questioned him in the forged signature case linked to documents submitted by the TMC before a faction of it rebelled and supported Ritabrata Banerjee as leader of the opposition in the West Bengal Assembly. He must appear again before the Criminal Investigation Department on June 14 for questioning in the same case. While the Calcutta High Court asked Banerjee to cooperate in the investigation, it also observed that no coercive action should be taken against him for two weeks.
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In another case, a CID team visited Abhishek’s residence in Kalighat in connection with a complaint lodged regarding some remarks made by him. The CID informed him and asked him to appear before the investigation team on June 16 in connection with the case.
On June 15, he was asked to appear before the Enforcement Directorate in connection with an investigation into alleged staffing irregularities in primary schools.
How did TMC leaders react to the late-night inspection?
TMC MP Mahua Moitra, a staunch supporter of Mamata Banerjee and one of the few MPs who stood by her amid the rebellion, criticized Kolkata Police for “breaking down” the doors and conducting a search for “90 minutes” and then returning empty-handed.
“Zero confiscation, 100% retaliation. BJP is trying everything. Intimidation and money won’t make you win 2029,” she wrote in a post on X.
Another TMC MP and Mamata loyalist Sagrika Ghose made similar accusations, saying a disaster management team was called in to break the locks on Abhishek’s house and the seizure report said “nothing”.
She gave a complete timeline of what happened, writing on
She added: “No evidence. No wrongdoing. Nothing. Just political vendetta, intimidation and mental torture. Operation Lotus targets every leader who refuses to surrender to the dictates of the BJP. A disgraceful attack on an opposition leader. A vengeful, conniving and despicable tactic.”
(With inputs from PTI)
