A fresh political controversy unfolded on Saturday as officials of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), West Bengal, visited the Harish Mukherjee Road and Kalighat Road residences of Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee in connection with the ongoing “Assembly Signature Scandal” investigation.

The sleuths of the investigating agency also served Banerjee a notice asking him to appear before the CID’s Bhabani Bhawan headquarters at 12 noon on Monday.

According to reports, CID officials first reached Banerjee’s Harish Mukherjee Road residence as part of their probe into alleged discrepancies in signatures submitted to the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. However, a party worker informed them that the TMC leader was not at home at the time, and that his wife and children were also absent. The worker further stated that he was unable to disclose Banerjee’s whereabouts.

Conflicting claims over his whereabouts

Shortly after the CID’s visit, TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh claimed that Abhishek Banerjee was present at his residence on Rammohan Roy Road. Reports also suggested that Banerjee had earlier visited Beliaghata to meet the family of a party worker allegedly killed in post-poll violence.

Later in the day, Banerjee was seen at another residence on Kalighat Road.

Speaking to the media, the MP said he had received the notice but had not yet reviewed its details. “I am yet to go through the details of the notice. I will speak to my lawyers in this regard,” he said.

CID officials later reached his Kalighat Road residence and formally served him the notice related to the ongoing investigation.

Probe linked to Assembly letter controversy

The investigation stems from allegations surrounding a letter submitted to the West Bengal Legislative Assembly regarding the selection of Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as Leader of the House/related proceedings. Questions have been raised over the authenticity of signatures of several MLAs on the document, with claims that some may have been forged.

Sources said the CID has begun verifying the genuineness of signatures and has already visited multiple MLAs in connection with the case, including Chandranath Sinha and Nayna Banerjee. Officials have also examined related documents and recorded statements regarding the circumstances under which the signatures were collected.

Origins of the controversy

The row reportedly traces back to a letter initially submitted to the Legislative Assembly by Abhishek Banerjee in his capacity as TMC national general secretary. The document was later returned by the Speaker, after which fresh doubts emerged regarding the validity of certain signatures on a subsequent submission.

With the CID expanding its probe and political leaders offering conflicting accounts of events, the “Assembly Signature Scandal” has now emerged as a significant political flashpoint in West Bengal, further intensifying tensions between the ruling party and the opposition.