Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Kumar Nand has rejected allegations that former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee was attacked with a knife outside her Kalighat residence on Tuesday evening, saying the complaint had “no substance or truth”.
The incident was reported after Banerjee returned from Delhi and stepped out of her Kalighat home to inaugurate the Durga Puja of Kalighat Milan Sangha. The Trinamool Congress had alleged that a woman approached Banerjee, verbally abused her and tried to attack her as she emerged from the residence.
According to the allegations, security personnel and local residents intervened and detained the woman at the scene. A complaint was subsequently lodged by Mamata-faction TMC MP Dola Sen, stating that the woman had attempted to attack Banerjee with a knife.
However, Commissioner Nand disputed that account after an initial police probe. “This is not an attack. She went there to meet her, but it appeared otherwise to the supporters,” he said, according to the report. The commissioner also stated that the woman and her father had known Banerjee for a long time.
Police had identified the detained woman as 38-year-old Anusuya Saha, a resident of SN Roy Road in New Alipore. Saha is a civic volunteer posted at the West Port police station and has been serving there since November 2011, according to senior police sources cited in the report.
Authorities are examining Saha’s background, her prolonged absence from duty and the circumstances that led to her being present outside Banerjee’s residence. Police sources said she had been absent from work and had not reported for duty since October 2, 2025.
The conflicting accounts have placed the functioning of Banerjee’s security cover under scrutiny. While the police commissioner said the episode was not an attack, TMC leaders questioned how the woman was able to approach the former chief minister. TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee said, “If this is Z+ security, imagine the safety of common people.”
The incident also highlights the operational challenge faced by security teams during public appearances outside residences, where supporters, visitors and local activity can converge. In this case, the police investigation is continuing, with authorities yet to publicly detail the full sequence of events or announce any action arising from the complaint.
The next steps will depend on the findings of the ongoing inquiry into Saha’s movements, her absence from civic volunteer duty and the circumstances surrounding the encounter at Kalighat.
