TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee appeared before Kolkata Police on Wednesday for questioning over the August 27 disturbance during an attempt to remove a party billboard from a building on Camac Street, bringing a politically charged dispute over municipal signage enforcement into a formal investigation.
Banerjee reached Shakespeare Sarani Police Station at around 11.30am, a police officer said. The appearance followed two notices issued by Kolkata Police at his Kalighat residence directing him to join the investigation into a complaint filed by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC).
The civic body has alleged that police personnel and municipal workers were harassed and assaulted while they were trying to remove signage belonging to the Trinamool Congress from a building housing the party’s office on Camac Street in central Kolkata. The report does not state that the allegations have been proved.
The August 27 incident occurred as police and KMC officials attempted to take down a billboard bearing the party’s name and symbol. The effort triggered protests by Banerjee’s supporters and led to the registration of three first information reports at Shakespeare Sarani police station.
The dispute places the enforcement of building signage rules within a wider municipal and public-order framework. Removing an unauthorised or disputed sign from a prominent central Kolkata building requires coordination between the civic body responsible for municipal enforcement and the police responsible for maintaining public order. The incident shows how such an operation can quickly become a larger confrontation when the property or signage is associated with a political organisation.
Kolkata Police issued the notices to Banerjee in connection with the complaint and sought his appearance before investigators. The supplied report does not provide details of the sections invoked in the FIRs, the legal status of the billboard, or whether any municipal permission had been granted for its installation.
TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh criticised the police action, saying, “The BJP (government) has stooped so low that a notice has been served even after ‘Mahalaya’ when the Durga Puja is just days away.” His statement referred to the festival calendar, with Mahalaya marking the end of Pitri Paksha and the beginning of Devi Paksha.
The immediate next step is the police investigation into the three FIRs registered over the Camac Street disturbance. Further proceedings will depend on the statements recorded by investigators and the evidence collected in connection with the alleged obstruction and assault during the billboard-removal attempt.
