On 9th June, a team of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of West Bengal Police visited the Trinamool Congress (TMC) central office-cum-residence of party chief Mamata Banerjee at 30B Harish Chatterjee Street in Kolkata as part of its probe into the forged signatures controversy involving party MLAs.
#WATCH | A team of CID arrives at the residence of Former Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, in Kolkata pic.twitter.com/EWXxEWEcfT
— ANI (@ANI) June 9, 2026
The CID officials, accompanied by personnel from Kalighat police station and a large number of women police personnel, reached the premises around noon. The visit comes amid an ongoing investigation into signatures that were submitted to the Assembly Speaker for the recognition of senior TMC MLA Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as the Leader of Opposition in the party’s legislature wing.
CID cites Abhishek Banerjee’s reply
According to officials present at the spot, the agency decided to inspect the premises after receiving a response from TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee to an earlier notice.
CID officers said Abhishek Banerjee informed investigators that the signatures of MLAs had been collected at the party’s central office located at the Kalighat address. Based on that statement, the agency reached the premises to continue its investigation.
Entry denied by TMC leaders
However, the CID team was not allowed to enter the building, leading to a brief exchange with those managing the premises.
TMC leader and former MP Subhasish Chakraborty said the party objected to the search because Abhishek Banerjee was not present. He stated that the CID could carry out its search once Abhishek Banerjee arrived.
Mamata Banerjee, who had travelled to Delhi to attend an INDIA bloc meeting, and it was not immediately clear whether she had returned to Kolkata.
The forged-signature controversy has triggered a major internal crisis within the TMC. The dispute began after claims surfaced that signatures of several party legislators on the proposal supporting Sovandeb Chattopadhyay’s appointment were not genuine, leading to an FIR and a CID investigation.
