Kolkata, Oct 12 (IANS) Trinamool Congress general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee on Monday skipped an appearance at Shakespeare Sarani Police Station for questioning in connection with the August 27 scuffle between party workers, police personnel and Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) staff at his Camac Street office in central Kolkata.
Police sources said Banerjee sent an email to the police station, requesting that he be informed at least 48 hours in advance about the scheduled time for interrogation.
It remains to be seen what further action the city police will take following the email communication from the Lok Sabha member, who is the nephew of former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Abhishek was served a notice for interrogation by personnel from Shakespeare Sarani Police Station at his residence on Kalighat Road in south Kolkata on Sunday afternoon. The police had earlier visited his residence on October 8 to serve the same notice but could not do so as he was in New Delhi.
The Trinamool leader was in the national capital to participate in the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the electoral roll revision exercise.
After learning that Abhishek had returned to Kolkata, the police visited his residence again on Sunday and served the notice. The notice relates to an FIR registered on the basis of a complaint lodged by the KMC.
The Diamond Harbour MP has already been questioned in the case once, spending more than six hours at Shakespeare Sarani Police Station.
Tension erupted on August 27 when KMC officials, accompanied by the police, reached Abhishek’s Camac Street office to remove a billboard. Civic officials and cops allegedly faced resistance from Trinamool Congress workers led by Abhishek and other party leaders, triggering scuffles at the site.
According to the three FIRs registered at Shakespeare Sarani Police Station, the police have accused Trinamool Congress activists of assaulting personnel on duty and attempting to outrage the modesty of a woman police officer.
Abhishek, Trinamool leader and Rajya Sabha member Derek O’Brien, and other party leaders, including Humayun Kabir and Baishwanar Chatterjee, were named in two of the three FIRs.
The police have arrested 14 people in connection with the incident so far. The latest development comes as the city police await Abhishek’s response to the interrogation notice and consider their next course of action.
–IANS
src/skp
