Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee appeared before Kolkata Police on Wednesday for questioning in connection with the August 27 disturbance over the attempted removal of a party billboard from a building on Camac Street, bringing a municipal signage dispute into a wider political and police case.
Banerjee reached Shakespeare Sarani Police Station at around 11.30am, a police officer said. The Kolkata Police had issued two notices to his Kalighat residence directing him to appear before investigators following a complaint filed by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC).
According to the civic body’s complaint, police personnel and municipal workers were harassed and assaulted while attempting to remove signage belonging to the TMC from a building housing the party’s office on Camac Street in central Kolkata. The billboard carried the party’s name and symbol.
The attempted removal on August 27 triggered protests by Banerjee’s supporters as police and KMC officials moved to take down the signage. Three first information reports have been registered at Shakespeare Sarani police station in connection with the incident.
The case places the enforcement of municipal rules on political signage at the centre of a dispute involving the city’s civic administration, police and a major political party. The supplied report does not specify the municipal rule or order under which the billboard was to be removed, nor does it detail the alleged injuries or property damage linked to the confrontation.
The KMC complaint is the stated basis for the notices issued to Banerjee. The police officer cited in the report confirmed his appearance at the station, while the report did not provide details of the questions asked during the appearance or whether any further summonses had been issued.
TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh criticised the police action. “The BJP government has stooped so low that a notice has been served even after ‘Mahalaya’ when the Durga Puja is just days away,” Ghosh said. Mahalaya marks the end of Pitri Paksha and the beginning of Devi Paksha, traditionally signalling the start of the religious festival season.
The three FIRs registered at Shakespeare Sarani police station remain the immediate legal basis for the investigation. Further developments will depend on the police inquiry and the next steps taken in the cases arising from the August 27 disturbance.
