The office of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee was allegedly ransacked and looted by unidentified men early Thursday.
Banerjee shared CCTV footage that purportedly shows masked men ransacking the office and fleeing with electronic equipment, including a television and other gadgets. The office is on the seventh floor of a multi-storey building on Camac Street in Kolkata.
On X, he alleged, “This is what the BJP has done to my party office in the early hours of this morning.”
He questioned whether the West Bengal governor, Union home minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Office would take action over the incident.
Banerjee also asked the judiciary, particularly the Calcutta High Court, to take note of “violence, vandalism and intimidation” in the state.
{{/usCountry}}Banerjee also asked the judiciary, particularly the Calcutta High Court, to take note of “violence, vandalism and intimidation” in the state.
{{/usCountry}}Abhishek Banerjee blames Suvendu Adhikari
Banerjee directly accused West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari of resorting to intimidation, asking why he was “so scared of the Trinamool Congress and of me”.
“If this is how the Opposition is to be treated in West Bengal, through violence, vandalism and intimidation, then the Chief Minister have no moral authority to remain in office. He must resign,” Banerjee said.
Calling the incident “political thuggery”, Banerjee said those responsible would be held accountable and that such incidents “will be remembered”.
Police detain 6 people
Police have detained six people for questioning in connection with the alleged break-in and vandalism. The investigation is underway.
TMC IT Cell in-charge Upashna Chaudhary also alleged that people associated with the BJP attacked and vandalised the office.
Chaudhary claimed that the men arrived at around 3:30 am, assaulted the security guards and forcibly entered the office before vandalising the premises. She said the condition inside the office was “far from good”.
She also questioned the police response, claiming that repeated attempts were made to contact them while the incident was taking place but there was no response.
“When all this was happening at 3:30 AM, we tried repeatedly to contact them, yet there was no response,” Chaudhary said, questioning how long it would take for police from the nearest station to reach the Camac Street office.
She further alleged that the police may have been instructed by a senior officer to stay away while the incident was unfolding.
Chaudhary said the TMC would identify those allegedly involved by examining the video footage and submit their details to the police.
“We will identify the specific BJP members involved; we will circle their faces in the videos and submit the details,” she said.
She added that the party would pursue legal and democratic avenues beyond merely filing an FIR.