Trinamool Congress National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Sunday appeared before the West Bengal Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for a second round of questioning in connection with the alleged forgery of signatures belonging to party MLAs.
Abhishek Banerjee arrived at the CID headquarters, Bhabani Bhawan, shortly before noon, reaching the premises at around 11:43 a.m., despite being summoned for 12 p.m. questioning. His appearance comes days after his first interrogation by the agency in the same matter. He reportedly left the CID headquarters aftdr over 10 hours of questioning.
Later in the afternoon, Trinamool spokesperson and Beleghata MLA Kunal Ghosh also reached Bhabani Bhawan to face questioning linked to the ongoing probe. Ghosh entered the premises at approximately 3 p.m. and left after nearly four hours, at around 7:25 p.m., while Banerjee’s interrogation was reportedly still underway.
The case concerns allegations that signatures of Trinamool MLAs were falsified in a letter submitted to the Speaker of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly on May 20. The document named Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly. The investigation began after Trinamool legislators Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha lodged a complaint, alleging that their signatures had been forged in the nomination letter. Based on the complaint, a First Information Report (FIR) was registered, prompting the CID to launch its inquiry.
As Abhishek Banerjee had signed the disputed document, the agency issued multiple summons to him. However, he initially refrained from appearing in person, citing health concerns and requesting an additional 15 days to respond.
His first appearance before the CID took place on Thursday, following intervention by the Calcutta High Court. Earlier that day, the court directed him to present himself before investigators by 6 p.m. The bench also granted him interim protection from coercive action for three weeks, provided he cooperated with the investigation.
The controversy surrounding the case intensified on June 9 when CID officials carried out a search at 30B, Harish Chatterjee Street, the residence of former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, which also functions as the Trinamool Congress headquarters. The party office is located withing Mamata Banerjee's residential complex. Investigators said the location had been mentioned in Banerjee’s response to the agency, and claimed they were looking for the original resolution allegedly containing the disputed signatures. The search operation triggered a legal challenge from the Trinamool Congress, which moved the Calcutta High Court on June 10, questioning the legality of the CID’s action at the party office situated beside Mamata Banerjee’s Kalighat residence.
Separately, in the early hours of Saturday, a police team from Salboni police station in West Medinipur reportedly visited Banerjee’s residence on Patuapara Road in Kolkata’s Kalighat area. Officials were searching for his personal assistant, Sumit Roy, in relation to an alleged financial embezzlement case linked to suspected land fraud.
Banerjee is also expected to face further questioning in multiple investigations over the coming days.
On Monday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is scheduled to question him at its Salt Lake office in connection with the multi-crore school recruitment scam in West Bengal. The central agency had issued him a notice in the case earlier this month, on June 3. A day later, on Tuesday, he has again been summoned by the CID in another matter, where he stands accused of allegedly making provocative remarks and issuing threats to Union Home Minister Amit Shah ahead of the recent Assembly elections in the State. Officials reportedly served him the notice on the evening of June 12.
However, it remains uncertain whether Banerjee will appear before investigators in either of the upcoming cases. Unlike the MLA signature forgery matter, he currently does not have interim judicial protection against police action in these proceedings.
