The CID team on Monday once again visited Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee’s Kalighat residence as the investigation into the alleged ‘forged-signature’ controversy surrounding the selection of the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly.
The fresh visit comes within a day after the TMC Lok Sabha MP was attacked during his Sonarpur visit. On Monday evening, a team of CID officials reached the residence of Abhishek Banerjee to serve second summon to Bhavani Bhavan for a reported interrogation. Banerjee has been asked to appear on June 8 “without failure.” This comes after Banerjee was unable to appear for the first summon earlier today due to ‘illnesses.’
According to reports, the TMC MP had written to the investigating agency regarding his physical ailment and thus inability to adhere to the notice.
Meanwhile, as the investigation into the alleged ‘forged signature’ case opened, TMC has so far expelled two of its MLAs, Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha.
On the other hand, the CID is reported to have formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT), amid growing allegations of procedural irregularities within the ruling party's legislative wing. Investigators are examining claims that signatures of several legislators were either misused or attached to documents under disputed circumstances during the process of selecting key Assembly positions, CM Suvendu Adhikari said in a press conference earlier today.
What Happened?
The controversy centres on a resolution dated May 6 that was allegedly used to support the selection of senior TMC leader Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as Leader of the Opposition. Questions emerged after some legislators reportedly claimed that no such resolution had been formally adopted on that date and that signatures collected later were allegedly shown as having been signed earlier.
The issue took a dramatic turn after expelled TMC MLAs Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha wrote to Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose, on May 27, alleging that signatures collected on May 19 were subsequently linked to a May 6 resolution. In their communication, the two legislators reportedly stated, "No resolution was adopted with regard to the selection of Leader of Opposition on 06-05-2026."
The letter further alleged that the resolution attached to subsequent documents appeared to be a "manufactured and fabricated document" and urged the Speaker to initiate legal verification of the signatures before granting official recognition to Assembly posts connected to the disputed resolution.
Those allegations triggered a formal complaint process that eventually led to a CID investigation. The agency has since begun collecting specimen signatures from multiple legislators, recording statements and examining documentary evidence. Handwriting experts have also been involved in parts of the inquiry as investigators seek to determine whether any forgery, misrepresentation or procedural violation took place.
Neither Abhishek Banerjee nor the Trinamool Congress immediately issued a detailed public statement regarding the latest CID visit.
