Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee has asked Kolkata Police to give him at least 48 hours’ notice before requiring him to appear for questioning in the Camac Street billboard case, according to a report by Anandabazar – Kolkata. He did not appear at Shakespeare Sarani police station on Monday after receiving a notice calling him for questioning.
Banerjee conveyed his request to the police through an email, saying that he has pre-scheduled engagements as a Member of Parliament and could not attend after receiving a notice on October 11 that required him to appear the following day. The report said he described the short-notice summons as unilateral, arbitrary and unreasonable.
Police subsequently visited Banerjee’s residence in Kalighat again and issued a fresh notice. According to the report, he has been summoned to appear on Wednesday, with at least 48 hours available before the questioning. Banerjee has told the police that he is prepared to cooperate with the investigation but needs adequate time to attend.
The questioning relates to an incident on August 27 on Camac Street, where a dispute broke out after a billboard bearing the Trinamool Congress name was removed from an office building. Police and Kolkata Municipal Corporation officials reportedly became involved in a confrontation with Banerjee’s supporters. Three first information reports have been registered in connection with the incident, the report said.
Police had previously summoned Banerjee in the same case, and he had appeared for questioning. Investigators are seeking to question him again based on the FIRs relating to the billboard removal. The incident began when police allegedly went to the roof of the building and removed the billboard, which authorities described as illegal and dangerously suspended.
The safety issue is central to the municipal dimension of the case. The authorities’ stated position, as reported by Anandabazar – Kolkata, was that the billboard posed a risk to people in the area. After the removal, a banner bearing the Trinamool Congress name was reportedly installed at the same location.
An earlier attempt to serve a notice took place when police visited Banerjee’s residence the previous Wednesday, but he was in Delhi and no one was available to receive it. He returned to Kolkata from Delhi on Saturday, after which police served the notice again at his Kalighat residence on Sunday. The next scheduled appearance mentioned in the report is Wednesday.
