A team from West Bengal’s West Midnapore searched Abhishek Banerjee’s residence in Kolkata early Saturday to find his executive assistant, Sumit Roy. Led by a Deputy Superintendent of Police, the team, accompanied by central armed police forces, arrived at Kalighat Road around 3 a.m.
Following repeated knocks at the entrance without a response, the team, including women personnel, waited outside. After a two-hour wait, they broke open the entrance lock with the state Disaster Management Department’s help to enter. The search aimed to locate Roy, who is currently evading authorities in a land-grabbing case filed at Salboni Police Station.
The complaint against Roy at Salboni Police station involves a land-grabbing case. Earlier, the West Midnapore police arrested a former Trinamool legislator on similar charges. The search at Abhishek Banerjee’s residence was based on Roy’s mobile tower location data, showing his presence there till early morning.
Despite an extensive search, Roy could not be found, leading the security forces to leave the area. Mamata Banerjee, upon learning of the raid, rushed to the spot from her nearby residence. Abhishek Banerjee criticized the police for breaking into his home and will face interrogation in multiple cases over the following days.
On June 14, he is set for questioning by the state police’s CID regarding discrepancies in Trinamool legislators’ signatures. The next day, he faces the Enforcement Directorate regarding a cash-for-school-job case. Finally, on June 16, he is to appear before the CID again for allegedly inciting violence and threatening Amit Shah before the recent Assembly polls.
