Kolkata, 30 May

TMC National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee was attacked by an angry crowd in Sonarpur on Saturday while visiting the family of a party worker allegedly killed in post-poll violence, hours after being served a CID summons in a separate forgery investigation.

Banerjee faced stone and egg pelting, verbal abuse and physical jostling from protesters in the Kamrabad area of Rajpur-Sonarpur municipality. Television footage showed him being escorted by security personnel wearing a police-issued cricket helmet, with his shirt torn and his spectacles damaged.

Residents, many of them women carrying broomsticks and bamboo poles, accused the TMC leadership of years of extortion, poor civic services and intimidation. Protesters shouted “thief, thief” and questioned Banerjee’s absence during the RG Kar rape and murder case. Some cited remarks made during election campaigning as a reason for their anger.

Banerjee alleged that BJP activists orchestrated the attack and claimed there was no police presence at the scene. “They wanted to kill me,” he said, adding that he would inform the Calcutta High Court and the Governor. BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya denied involvement, describing the incident as a reflection of public anger but “not expected in a democracy”.

Meanwhile, the West Bengal CID served Banerjee a notice directing him to appear for questioning on Monday in connection with an investigation into alleged forged signatures on a letter backing senior TMC leader Shobhandeb Chattopadhyay as Leader of the Opposition.

The notice was personally delivered after CID officers spent nearly 90 minutes attempting to locate him at two residences in south Kolkata. Banerjee said he would consult lawyers and cooperate with the investigation, but described the move as politically motivated.

The probe follows allegations that signatures of some newly elected TMC MLAs on a support letter submitted to the Assembly Secretariat did not match official records.