CID Questions Abhishek Banerjee cousin Aditi Gayen In DJ FIR Probe

Kolkata: The CID on Thursday reached the residence of Aditi Gayen, Mamata Banerjee’s niece, at her Harish Chatterjee Street residence in Kalighat, to question her in connection with the FIR against Abhishek Banerjee, her cousin, for his “DJ” remark during the poll campaign. A 10-member team, arriving around 2 pm in two SUVs, went directly to the flat at 29 D Harish Chatterjee Street and spoke to her for an hour.“The CID team went there as part of the verification process. As part of Abhishek’s social media team, she uploads his speeches. It is in this regard that we had a few verifications which needed to be completed. The questions revolved around all forms of social media use—Facebook Lives, uploads on X, and video uploads in the run-up to the elections. We have received her cooperation, along with that of her family members.

It is too early to state if she will be made a witness in this case,” said a source who is part of the probe.Aditi, the daughter of Mamata’s sister Rina Gayen, happens to be the person in charge of Abhishek’s social media pages and also leads the team of videographers who shoot his videos and share live streams during his public appearances. Abhishek has already been questioned by the CID for six and a half hours at Bhawani Bhawan on Tuesday in connection with this hate speech probe, and faces a similar probe in Siliguri.

Sources in the CID have stated that they have identified multiple witnesses in the case and are reaching out to them one by one. “We have asked her for contacts who were present at six venues where Abhishek is accused of making the controversial remarks. We also wanted to know if the ‘playing of the DJ’ remark was part of Abhishek’s instructions or posted by his PR team without his knowledge,” claimed a source. Investigators also questioned her about the recording and dissemination of the speech on Abhishek’s social media platforms.Abhishek had reportedly said DJs would be played after the declaration of results on May 4. Referring to the playing of DJs, Banerjee had said, “The DJ will definitely play, and it will play so loudly that your ears will ring.” The remark later became the subject of a case on allegations that it was provocative and could incite unrest, and two separate FIRs were lodged against Abhishek.Aditi has long been associated with Abhishek’s media and digital outreach operations.

Party insiders said she handled his social media pages and continues to play a key role in managing digital content and coordinating aspects of his public programmes.The Kalighat visit comes days after police from Salboni police station conducted a late-night search operation in the area while looking for Abhishek’s close aide Sumit Roy in a land scam case. Officers had broken open a lock and entered the premises during that operation but failed to trace him.Upasana Chowdhury, Trinamool’s IT cell head, questioned the investigation. “Before this DJ remark, (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah had said during the election campaign that he would hang people upside down and set them right. No action was taken. (State leader) Dilip Ghosh had also made controversial remarks. If those statements were objectionable, why was no action taken then? This is an attempt to silence the opposition,” she said while speaking to reporters outside the residence.The DJ case was registered on May 15 at the Cyber Crime Police Station under the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate, following a complaint filed by an activist identified as Rajib Sarkar at Baguiati Police Station. According to the police, the complaint was submitted on May 5, a day after election results were declared, and was processed according to due procedure before the FIR was formally lodged. Subsequently, the Bidhannagar cyber cell took up the initial investigation.Abhishek had said, “When I made that statement, elections were already underway. At that time, the Election Commission was in charge of law and order. Then why was no FIR filed against me at that time? Now that the government has changed, I will be tagged in several cases… The Union Home Minister had said Trinamool supporters would be hung upside down. The Election Commission took no action against him. If a case can be filed against me for saying that a DJ will be played, then why not against the Home Minister? Why is the CID after my speech, while no case is filed against outsiders?”