Kolkata, 13 June (H.S.): A pre-dawn police raid at the Kalighat residence of Trinamool Congress National General Secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday was reportedly carried out in connection with the search for his personal aide, Sumit Roy, whose last known mobile phone location was traced to the politician’s residence.
According to police sources, Roy is being sought in connection with an alleged financial irregularity case. His name reportedly surfaced during the interrogation of former MLA Sujay Hazra, who was recently arrested in a land corruption case. Investigators subsequently tracked Roy’s mobile phone and found that its last recorded tower location was at Banerjee’s Kalighat residence.
Acting on this information, a team from Salboni Police Station arrived at Banerjee’s Potuapara residence around 3 a.m. on Saturday. After repeatedly knocking on the door and receiving no response, officers allegedly broke open the outer lock and entered the premises. A thorough search of the house was then conducted.
The operation continued for nearly five hours, but police failed to locate Roy. The search team left the premises at around 8 a.m. without making any arrest.
Following news of the raid, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited the residence early in the morning. She left after the police operation concluded and did not make any comments to the media.
Speaking to reporters after the search, Abhishek Banerjee said police had broken the lock and searched the entire house but found nothing. He claimed that the entire operation had been recorded and described the action as unnecessary harassment.
The raid comes at a time when Banerjee is facing scrutiny in multiple investigations. He was recently questioned for several hours by the Criminal Investigation Department in connection with the alleged West Bengal Assembly signature-forgery case. He has been summoned again for questioning on June 14.
In addition, the Enforcement Directorate has summoned Banerjee to appear on June 15 in connection with its probe into alleged irregularities in primary teacher recruitment. The latest police action has further intensified political attention surrounding the ongoing investigations involving the Trinamool Congress leader.
Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh
