Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee arrives for the INDIA bloc meeting at Constitution Club of India, in New Delhi on June 8, 2026.
| Photo Credit: ANI
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the West Bengal police searched the residence of former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata on Tuesday (June 9, 2026), in connection with the alleged forgery of the signatures of two Trinamool Congress MLAs.
The CID officials said that they wanted to search the premises since the 30B, Harish Chatterjee Street address is also referred to as the party office of the Trinamool Congress. After a standoff with party officials, the CID team entered the premises around 4 p.m. and carried out their search.
Former Trinamool Congress MP Subhasish Chakraborty said he could not allow the CID officials inside as both Ms. Banerjee and her nephew and party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee were not present in the house. He urged the officials to come back a day or two later when one of them would be present. However, CID officials countered, saying that they had come to search the TMC party office on the premises, and not the residence of Ms. Banerjee, and accusing Mr. Chakraborty of “obstructing the investigation”.
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Forged signatures case
The CID is investigating a letter nominating Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as the Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly, which was submitted to the Speaker on May 20. Trinamool MLAs Ritabarta Banerjee and Sandipan Saha alleged that their signatures on the letter had been forged. They were then expelled from the party.
An FIR was registered on the basis of their complaint at Kolkata’s Hare Street police station and the case was later handed over to the CID. The State agency then issued several summons to Mr. Abhishek Banerjee, who had signed the letter. However, he did not appear in person, citing health issues, and sought 15 days more to respond.
Mr. Abhishek Banerjee was supposed to appear before the CID officials at the State police headquarters by 5 p.m. on Tuesday. However, he failed to appear, and instead made an appeal to the CID for a further extension, just minutes before the 5 p.m. deadline.
Simultaneously, CID officials also went to the Camac Street office of the Trinamool Congress in relation to the same probe.
‘Shameless political vendetta’
Later, senior TMC MP and senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee also arrived at Ms. Banerjee’s residence and slammed the CID action. “They have sent the CID now because they know they know everyone is in Delhi… Mamata Banerjee is not in the picture, neither any FIR has been lodged against her, nor has she been called as a witness,” he said. Accusing Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari of becoming “vindictive”, Mr. Kalyan Banerjee said the CID search was a case of harassment against Ms. Banerjee.
The TMC’s Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien also condemned the CID visit as a “shameless political vendetta”. After “vote loot”, there was an attempt to loot the files of a political rival as well, he said.
Senior TMC leader and MLA Kunal Ghosh claimed that when he tried to go inside Ms Banerjee’s residence, he was stopped by the officials. “Why is this happening in Mamata Banerjee’s absence? Why did they not come when she was here for so many days?” Mr. Ghosh asked.
‘None above the law’
State Minister and Bharatiya Janta Party MLA Agnimitra Paul said the CID search showed that no one is above the law.
“Mamata Banerjee, our ex-CM, tolerated criminals, corruption for 15 years. She never cared for the Constitution… Everybody will be brought to book… The atrocities that happened here, she is responsible… she should be booked, she should be arrested,” Ms. Paul said.
Published – June 09, 2026 04:31 pm IST
