CID grills Abhishek Banerjee in signature forgery case, summons him again

Trinamool Congress national general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee appeared before the West Bengal CID on Thursday for nearly six hours of questioning in connection with an alleged signature forgery case linked to the selection of the Leader of Opposition and other key posts in the state Assembly.

Banerjee reached the CID headquarters at Bhabani Bhavan around 5.50 pm, shortly after securing interim protection from coercive action from the Calcutta High Court. After leaving the CID headquarters at around 11.30 pm, Banerjee headed to Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's residence.

According to sources, the CID has summoned Banerjee again on June 14 and directed him to appear at noon as investigators continue their probe into allegations that signatures of MLAs were fabricated or improperly obtained on a party resolution submitted to the Assembly Speaker.

The questioning marked Banerjee's first appearance before a state investigating agency since the Trinamool Congress lost power in West Bengal. He had earlier skipped three summonses, citing health issues and pending legal proceedings before the High Court.

The case centres on a resolution purportedly adopted at a TMC legislators' meeting on May 6, which recommended Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as Leader of Opposition, Asima Patra and Nayna Bandyopadhyay as deputy leaders, and Firhad Hakim as chief whip in the Assembly.

The controversy erupted after expelled TMC MLAs Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha complained to Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose, alleging that no such resolution had been passed at the May 6 meeting. They claimed they signed the resolution register only on May 19 and accused party leaders of subsequently fabricating records. The complainants also questioned the authenticity of several signatures, alleging that many appeared in block letters.

Investigators have been attempting to recover the original resolution book and attendance register. Earlier this week, CID teams searched the TMC's central office at Mamata Banerjee's Kalighat residence and Abhishek Banerjee's Camac Street office but reportedly failed to locate the documents.

Sources said Banerjee was questioned extensively on Thursday about the resolution book and the process through which the documents were forwarded to the Assembly Speaker. Investigators are believed to have sought details regarding a communication sent by Banerjee to the Speaker on May 20, enclosing copies of the resolution and attendance records.

According to sources familiar with the probe, investigators were not fully satisfied with several of Banerjee's responses and decided to summon him again for further questioning. Sources also claimed that the TMC leader became visibly agitated during parts of the interrogation and avoided giving direct answers to some questions relating to the disputed documents.

The CID took over the investigation from Kolkata Police on May 28, a day after a case was registered on a complaint from the principal secretary of the state assembly alleging cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy.

The development comes amid mounting legal challenges for Banerjee. He has also been asked to appear before the Enforcement Directorate on June 15 in connection with the alleged school recruitment scam.

- Ends