Pre-dawn police search at Abhishek's Kolkata home sparks fresh political row

In a dramatic pre-dawn operation that sparked a fresh political controversy in West Bengal, police personnel accompanied by Central forces conducted a search at the Kolkata residence of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP and national general-secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday, 13 June in connection with an alleged financial fraud case, officials said.

The operation, led by a team from Salboni police station in Paschim Medinipur and assisted by Kolkata Police personnel, began shortly after 3.00 am and continued for more than four hours, drawing sharp criticism from the erstwhile ruling TMC.

The development prompted TMC supremo and former chief minister Mamata Banerjee to rush to Abhishek Banerjee's Kalighat residence after being informed of the operation.

According to police, officers repeatedly knocked on the doors of the residence but received no response. The TMC, however, alleged that personnel broke open a lock and entered the premises to conduct the search.

Emerging from the residence later, Banerjee accused the police of forcibly entering the house after breaking a lock and searching the entire premises. "They broke the lock and searched the entire house," he told reporters.

The residence, located in Kalighat's Patuapara area, remained under heavy security throughout the operation, with Central forces cordoning off the neighbourhood while personnel from Kalighat and Bhabanipur police stations assisted the search team.

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

According to officials, investigators were searching for Banerjee's personal assistant in connection with the case. Police sources said women officers were also part of the search team. At one stage, some personnel briefly stepped out of the residence for discussions before re-entering and continuing the operation.

As news of the search spread, Mamata Banerjee arrived at the residence and remained there for a considerable period, closely monitoring developments. Her presence heightened political activity in the area, with TMC workers and supporters gathering outside.

In a post on X, the TMC said, "Political vendetta gets from bad to worse." Several party leaders echoed the charge, accusing the state government of misusing investigative agencies to target the Diamond Harbour MP.

TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose, in a strongly-worded post on X, detailed the sequence of events during the pre-dawn operation at Banerjee's residence. She claimed that police arrived at the Kalighat house around 3 am and that a disaster management team was subsequently brought in to break open locks before the search commenced.

Ghose said the search covered areas "from the second floor to the terrace", and lasted for about 90 minutes. She further claimed that the seizure report prepared after the operation recorded "NIL", alleging that investigators found no incriminating material. "No evidence. No wrongdoing. NOTHING," she wrote.

The Rajya Sabha MP alleged that the operation amounted to "political vendetta, intimidation and mental torture" and claimed that leaders refusing to submit to the BJP were being selectively targeted.

Describing the episode as a "disgraceful attack on an opposition leader", Ghose accused the ruling party at the Centre of employing "vindictive" tactics against its political opponents.

The TMC has repeatedly alleged that Central and state investigative agencies are being used to harass opposition leaders, a charge rejected by the BJP, which maintains that agencies function independently and act on the basis of evidence.

The search team left the residence later in the morning, though it was not immediately clear whether any documents or materials had been seized.

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

Banerjee has been summoned again on 14 June in the alleged signature forgery case after CID officers were reportedly dissatisfied with some of his responses during questioning at the agency's headquarters earlier this week.

The Calcutta High Court had directed Banerjee to cooperate with the investigation while observing that the CID would not take any coercive action against him for two weeks.

On Friday, CID officers also visited his Kalighat residence to serve a notice in connection with a cyber complaint over remarks allegedly made by him. After initially finding him unavailable, the officers later served the notice when he returned home. Banerjee has been asked to appear before the CID on 16 June in connection with the cyber case and has publicly stated that he will cooperate with both investigations.

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

Saturday's pre-dawn search has further escalated the political temperature in the state, with sections of the TMC alleging that Banerjee is being selectively targeted through successive investigations. The BJP, however, maintained that investigative agencies were following due process and that no individual was above the law.

With PTI inputs