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Surprise search op at 2 am, Mamata Banerjee rushes, nil seizures: Late-night drama at Abhishek's Kolkata home
The major operation was conducted reportedly to nab Abhishek’s personal assistant Sumit Roy, who is wanted in a financial fraud case.
Major drama unfolded in Kolkata on early Saturday when West Bengal police, along with central forces, reached Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee’s residence at 2 am in the night to conduct searches reportedly while looking for his personal assistant Sumit Roy in a fraud case. The late-night surprise for Abhishek prompted former West Bengal chief minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee to rush to her nephew’s Kalighat home.
The search reportedly lasted for hours and Mamata stayed there till the police concluded the search.
The operation was led by a team from Paschim Medinipur's Salboni Police Station and became another flashpoint between Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, with the former alleging “political vendetta” and the latter defending the action saying the forces were merely doing their job.
Abhishek Banerjee’s assistant in the centre of searches
The major operation was conducted primarily to nab 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 tracked to Abhishek’s Kalighat residence, leading to the prompt action.
Officials vs TMC
According to officials, they had to wait outside Abhishek’s residence for around four hours after they did not receive any response despite knocking on his doors repeatedly. However, the TMC alleged that a lock was broken and the police entered the premises to carry out the search.
"They broke the lock and searched the entire house," Abhishek said while speaking to the media after the search was done at around 7.30 am.
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When asked if the police found Roy at his residence, he said, "You should ask that question to the police who searched my house thoroughly. I am not the spokesperson of the police."
According to sources cited in the report, the police did not seize anything during the search and left as Roy was not found there.
Heavy security was deployed around Abhishek’s house during the search. However, the police refused to comment on the evidence they were seeking and to provide more details of the case.
Abhishek Banerjee faces scrutiny, one after another
Last night’s surprise raid was just fresh among many such troubles Abhishek Banerjee has been facing in the past few days, as he has been in the radar of several probe agencies. Two days back, the state’s CID grilled him in the forged signature case linked to documents submitted by the TMC before a faction of it rebelled and backed Ritabrata Banerjee as Leader of Opposition in West Bengal assembly. He has to appear again in front of the CID on June 14 for questioning in the same case. While the Calcutta high court asked Banerjee to cooperate in the probe, it also observed that no coercive action should be taken against him for two weeks.
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In another case, Abhishek’s Kalighat residence was visited by the CID team in connection with a complaint filed over certain remarks made by him. The CID served him notice and asked him to appear before the probe team on June 16 in connection with the case.
On June 15, he has been asked to appear before the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a probe into alleged primary school recruitment irregularities.
How TMC leaders reacted to the late night search
TMC MP Mahua Moitra, a staunch supporter of Mamata Banerjee and one of the few MPs who are by her side amid rebellion, slammed Kolkata police for “breaking open” doors and conducting search for “90 minutes” only to go back empty-handed.
“Zero seizure, 100pc vendetta. BJP try everything. Intimidation & money will not make you win 2029,” she wrote in a post on X.
Another TMC MP and Mamata loyalist Sagrika Ghose made similar charges, saying that a disaster management team was called in to break open locks of Abhishek’s house and the seizure report said “nil”.
Giving a full timeline of what happened, she wrote on X, “ 3 AM Saturday June 13. Police arrive at Abhishek Banerjee’s Kalighat residence in Kolkata. 5 AM: Disaster Management team called in to break open locks. 6:30 AM: Search begins, from second floor to terrace, lasting 90 minutes.Outcome? Seizure report says : NIL.”
“No evidence. No wrongdoing. NOTHING. Just political vendetta, intimidation and mental torture. Operation Lotus is targeting every leader who refuses to surrender to the BJP’s diktat. Disgraceful attack on an opposition leader. VINDICTIVE, CONNIVING, scumbag LOW LIFE tactic,” she added.
(With inputs from PTI)
