The district administration in South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, has begun demolishing the allegedly illegally-constructed party office of Trinamool Congress general secretary and Lok Sabha member, Abhishek Banerjee, in Amtala. The five-story party office, reportedly built without proper building sanction plan, is being demolished using bulldozers.
The demolition process is being carried out with the assistance of Bengal Police and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel. Local Block Development Officers (BDO) and the Block Land Revenue Officer (BLRS) are overseeing the demolition work. Additionally, the state fire services department personnel are present at the site.
Security personnel have cordoned off the demolition area with guardrails. Bulldozers have been deployed for the ongoing demolition work. The district authorities had previously issued a notice declaring the construction of the party office as illegal and lacking proper building sanction plan.
Following a notice issued on June 30, Trinamool Congress office bearers were summoned for a hearing on July 15. Despite a reminder notice posted on July 7, no response was received, prompting the district administration to commence the demolition on Saturday afternoon. Local BJP activists arrived at the site and praised the actions of the district administration.
Allegations were made by the BJP activists that notorious criminals from the previous ruling party in South 24 Parganas district, like Jahangir Khan, operated from this party office. The local BJP legislator from Satgachia Assembly constituency, Agniswar Naskar, claimed that the party office was not only constructed illegally without proper building sanction plan but was also built on land forcibly taken by Trinamool Congress-backed individuals. As of the latest report, there has been no response from Trinamool Congress regarding the demolition.
