SONARPUR: In a dramatic shift in the political landscape of West Bengal, Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary and Member of Parliament Abhishek Banerjee was severely roughed up, allegedly by local residents, on Saturday. The violent confrontation took place during his high-profile visit to the Sonarpur area, where he had traveled to meet the families of individuals who had fallen victim to recent post-poll violence, according to senior police officials.

The encounter quickly escalated into chaotic scenes of public anger. Unidentified individuals in the crowd targeted the prominent TMC MP by hurling a barrage of stones, shoes, and eggs at him. Members of the aggressive mob even attempted to rain blows and kicks directly onto Banerjee while chanting "thief" slogans at him. Observers noted that this marked the very first instance of such intense public anger erupting directly against a political leader who, until just a month ago, operated as an unquestioned and formidable power centre in Bengal.

This public event was the first for the Trinamool Congress national general secretary in 25 days following the announcement of the Bengal Assembly poll results. Banerjee had traveled to the area specifically to visit and comfort the family members of Sanju Karmakar, a victim of post-poll violence residing in Ward 9 of the Rajpur-Sonarpur Municipality's Vivekanandanagar area. Though the trip had been formally announced on Friday night, the reception on the ground proved highly volatile.

The moment Abhishek Banerjee stepped out of his vehicle, he was immediately greeted with loud, hostile chants of "chor, chor," which translates to "thief, thief." He was highly vulnerable during the encounter, having enjoyed a top-tier Z-plus security cover until the recent change of guard altered the security dynamics in Bengal. This specific brand of public humiliation mirrors other recent incidents involving top TMC leadership. Former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had also faced similar slogans on May 14 from a crowd of lawyers and protestors at the Calcutta High Court. Similarly, on Thursday, senior TMC MP Sougata Roy experienced a volatile ambush outside the Nimta police station. There, the 78-year-old leader was heckled by an angry crowd that not only charted the "chor chor" slogans but also escalated the protest by hurling eggs at his vehicle before the police could safely navigate his car out of the area.

Faced with a blocked path, Abhishek Banerjee abandoned his SUV and switched to a motorcycle to navigate the narrow roads. However, the bike soon came under a targeted attack from the crowd. He was ultimately forced to walk the remaining distance to the Karmakar residence wearing a motorcycle helmet for protection. He arrived with his shirt torn, surrounded tightly by his personal security personnel and a handful of Trinamool supporters who had traveled down from Bhabanipur. Tellingly, no local Trinamool leaders or workers from the Sonarpur area accompanied the party's national general secretary at the spot.

Local residents expressed deep resentment regarding the sudden visit and the state of their community. "Why is he here? He must have come here to take money. Why didn't he go to Panihati after the doctor was raped and killed?" asked one angry woman resident. Other locals expressed severe frustration over the persistent lack of basic civic amenities in their neighborhoods.

Accompanied by his protective security detail, Banerjee eventually pushed through the crowd and entered the Karmakar residence located on Kamrabad Sarat Sarani. Security personnel had to escort him into the private home with a police helmet firmly on his head and his clothing visibly tattered as the surrounding crowd grew increasingly aggressive.

Inside the house, the MP addressed reporters to describe the gravity of the threat outside. "They want to kill me," Abhishek told the media. "I am not going to leave this place, I am not going to leave the family till the administration takes action. You can see no official is present here. Everything has been recorded on video. I am drawing the attention of the Governor and the high court." Standing inside the property, Banerjee actively instructed the staff and supporters accompanying him to call local authorities, send urgent WhatsApp messages, and preserve screenshots as evidence if their distress calls went unanswered by regional administrative heads.

Outside the walls of the Karmakar residence, the hostile atmosphere did not subside. Men, women, and children lined the street, openly threatening the Trinamool national general secretary. Several local women came forward to allege that they had been forced to flee their homes previously after receiving direct threats from local Trinamool leaders. "We want to ask him why he didn't protect us. Why were women left unprotected?" one woman asked.

Reacting to the incident, state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya stated that the local police should take immediate action. "The BJP does not engage in such kind of politics. Police should take action," Bhattacharya said. "People remember what our former women's wing chief Roopa Ganguly (elected MLA from Sonarpur South) had to face. People of Bengal have voted for a change against this politics of violence."

To defuse the situation, personnel from the central forces, accompanied by officers from the Sonarpur police station, arrived at Ward 9 to rescue the Diamond Harbour MP. After being holed up inside the Karmakar residence for over 90 minutes, Abhishek was finally escalated out by the central forces and local police. Even as they departed, a mob chased the vehicle, shouting abuses.

The incident has triggered a sharp political war of words. "The Lok Sabha leader of the second largest Opposition party was attacked by a few BJP supporters. Life at risk. Where are the police? Why was security withdrawn on the day of counting? Let the Union home minister answer," said Derek O'Brien, Trinamool's leader in the Rajya Sabha. Launching a scathing attack on the Suvendu Adhikari-led government, Mamata Banerjee posted on X, "RULERS BECAME KILLERS - shame on you BJP." Following the incident, she immediately set en route to visit Abhishek, who has since been admitted to a private hospital for treatment.

National Opposition parties, including the Congress and the字段 Samajwadi Party, also strongly condemned the attack on the Trinamool MP. The leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, stated, "The deliberate lack of adequate police protection for a prominent Opposition leader speaks volumes about the BJP’s politics of vendetta and persecution." Similarly, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav claimed that the total absence of security arrangements points directly to a "major conspiracy" operating under what he termed the "anarchic BJP government in Bengal".

CID Summons Abhishek Banerjee In Assembly Forged Signature Investigation

In a separate legal development unfolding on Saturday afternoon, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the West Bengal police officially served a summons to Abhishek Banerjee. The order requires the national general secretary of the TMC to appear for questioning in connection with an ongoing investigation into a forged signature case.

The case involves serious allegations that the signatures of multiple TMC MLAs were forged on a key political letter dated May 19. The letter in question was formally submitted by the party to the assembly secretariat to nominate TMC MLA Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as the official Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the state assembly. The initial criminal complaint was lodged at Kolkata's Hare Street police station on behalf of the assembly secretariat on Wednesday, and given the high-profile nature of the case, officials confirmed the matter was quickly handed over to the CID.

“A letter has been served to Banerjee on Saturday afternoon. He has been summoned to the Bhabani Bhawan (headquarter of the state police) on Monday at 12 noon,” a senior CID official confirmed.

According to police records, the TMC had submitted its very first letter to the assembly secretariat on May 6, nominating Chattopadhyay as the LoP. However, that initial document was rejected because it was not sent directly by the TMC legislative party, which is a mandatory procedural requirement. When a second letter, supposedly signed by the TMC MLAs, was submitted on May 19, an official review revealed that several of the signatures did not match the established assembly records.

The investigation intensified on Friday when a five-member CID team arrived at the Shantiniketan Building on Harish Mukherjee Road in south Kolkata around 1:30 PM. A man at the property, who identified himself as a worker in the house, claimed that Banerjee was not present at the time.

Meanwhile, Banerjee had returned to his Kalighat Road residence from Beleghata, where he had met with the family of Biswajit Pattnayak, a TMC worker who was allegedly killed in a post-poll clash earlier this month.

Addressing the media about the sudden arrival of the investigators, Banerjee stated: “I don’t stay at Shantiniketan. If they need to meet me, they have to come here. I don’t know why the CID have come. Only they can tell. I haven’t been served any notice yet. You are saying that CID have come to serve me a notice in connection with the forged signature case. If you know everything and the CID has already told you, then I have nothing to say here. If they serve me a notice, I will tackle it legally. I haven’t bowed down...I can’t be suppressed. I am made of a different metal.”

The CID team waited at the Shantiniketan building for an hour before traveling directly to Banerjee’s Kalighat Road residence to serve the notice by hand.

Following the receipt of the document, Banerjee confirmed the delivery. “They have served a notice. I have received it. I have not yet seen the contents. I will take legal advice. I have nothing to hide. Earlier I have cooperated with the ED and CBI [Central Bureau of Investigation] and appeared before them for questioning at least 10 to 12 times. The agencies are being used to serve political vendetta,” he stated.

This legal scrutiny follows previous administrative actions. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) had previously served formal notices to Banerjee’s firm regarding alleged deviations in building plans for structures linked to his company, Leaps and Bounds Private Limited, including the Shantiniketan Building located at 188A Harish Mukherjee Road. “I have replied to the notices served by the KMC and have already moved the Calcutta high court in this regard,” Banerjee added.

The investigating agency has also widened its net, questioning several other TMC legislators in connection with the document on Friday. Among those questioned was Kolkata's Chowringhee MLA Nayna Bandopadhyay, who is the wife of TMC Lok Sabha member Sudip Bandopadhyay.

“They wanted to see my Aadhaar, PAN and other documents. I told them I was present at the meeting of the TMC legislative party and signed the document nominating Chattopadhyay,” Nayna Bandopadhyay stated on Friday.

The opposition has strongly dismissed any claims of political targeting regarding the forgery case. “What has forged signature to do with political vendetta? Such allegations are baseless. Corruption hasn’t spared the TMC MLAs. Allegations have surfaced that their signatures have been forged. This is unprecedented as far as my knowledge goes. The party’s National general secretary has to defend the party. This is very normal,” said BJP spokesperson Debjit Sarkar.