Abhishek Banerjee Appears Before CID Again in West Bengal MLA Signature Forgery Case
Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee appeared before the West Bengal Police's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for the second time on Sunday, June 14, 2026, in connection with the alleged forgery of signatures of MLAs.
The CID had summoned Mr. Banerjee to appear at 12 p.m. He arrived at the police headquarters at Bhabani Bhawan at 11.43 a.m. Trinamool spokesperson and Beleghata MLA Kunal Ghosh arrived around 3 p.m. for questioning in the same case. Mr. Banerjee was still being questioned when Mr. Ghosh left the building after four hours, around 7:25 p.m.
Mr. Banerjee made his first appearance before the CID on Thursday, June 11, 2026, after the Calcutta High Court directed him to appear before the agency by 6 p.m. that day. The court also granted him three-week interim protection, stating that the CID cannot take any coercive action as long as he cooperates with the investigation.
The CID investigation stems from a First Information Report (FIR) filed by Trinamool MLAs Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha, who alleged that their signatures were forged in a letter nominating Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as the Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly. The letter was submitted to the Speaker on May 20.
The state agency had issued several summons to Mr. Banerjee, who signed the letter. He did not appear earlier, citing health issues, and sought 15 more days to respond.
On June 9, the CID conducted a search at the residence of former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at 30B, Harish Chatterjee Street, which also serves as the Trinamool's central party office. The agency claimed that the address was mentioned in Mr. Banerjee's response and that they were looking for the original resolution containing the forged signatures.
The Trinamool moved the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday, June 10, challenging the legality of the search operation at the party office adjacent to Ms. Banerjee's residence in Kolkata's Kalighat area.
On Saturday, June 13, an official team from West Medinipur's Salboni police station entered Mr. Banerjee's residence at Patuapara Road in Kalighat in the early hours, searching for his personal assistant Sumit Roy in connection with alleged financial embezzlement linked to a land fraud case.
Mr. Banerjee faces further interrogations on Monday and Tuesday. On Monday, June 15, he is to be questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at its Salt Lake office in connection with the multi-crore cash-for-school job case in West Bengal. The ED served him a notice on June 3. On Tuesday, he is expected at the CID headquarters again for questioning in a case where he has been accused of inciting violence and threatening Union Home Minister Amit Shah before the recent Assembly election. The CID served him a notice in that matter on the evening of June 12.
It is unclear whether he will appear for these sessions. Mr. Banerjee does not have High Court protection against police action in these two cases at present.
