West Bengal Police has rejected TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee’s claim that BJP workers were behind the vandalism at his Camac Street office in Kolkata, saying that the six men arrested in the case have so far shown no political connection.
The six accused, Shankar Rao, Avinash Shaw, Sukhdev Gupta, Suraj Shaw, Amol Mondal and Rohit Borik, are all from neighbouring Howrah. Kolkata Police arrested them after they were found at the office following the incident early Thursday morning, 3rd September.
Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Kunal Agarwal said investigators have checked the social media profile of prime accused Avinash Shaw but found no political background so far. Police will also check whether the accused were involved in any earlier crimes. Some of the items taken from the office have been recovered from their possession.
“We have tracked the social media profile of the prime accused, Avinash Shaw. No political background of the accused has come to light,” Agarwal said. He added that the men will be questioned to find out the reason behind the attack and whether they have any political links.
Police reject claim of being absent during attack
The police response came after Abhishek Banerjee accused BJP workers of attacking the TMC office and questioned the police response. Banerjee said that men wearing helmets and masks entered the office around 4.30 am, damaged furniture and electronic equipment, took away phones and carried TV screens and other appliances out of the building.
What happened at Camac Street this morning is a disgraceful assault on the rule of law.
— Abhishek Banerjee (@abhishekaitc) September 3, 2026
At around 4.30 am, BJP hooligans, armed with weapons, stormed our party office in the heart of Kolkata. They attacked our people, snatched their phones, smashed furniture, ransacked the… pic.twitter.com/J3LrSsmKJI
Sharing CCTV footage on X, the Diamond Harbour MP described the attackers as “BJP hooligans” and demanded that everyone involved be arrested.
Banerjee also claimed that his people and lawyers made repeated calls and sent emails to the police for nearly two hours without getting a response. Kolkata Police, however, rejected this charge.
ACP Kunal Agarwal said the local police station received information about the incident shortly before 6 am. A police team reached the location immediately around 6 am and arrested six people from the spot.
Banerjee targets BJP government
After the incident, Banerjee also questioned the role of West Bengal Governor R N Ravi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the Prime Minister’s Office. He called for an investigation into who planned and directed the violence and questioned why the police had supposedly failed to respond.
He further said the judiciary, particularly the Calcutta High Court, should take note of the situation. Banerjee accused the state government of allowing violence and intimidation against the Opposition and said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s government had no moral authority to continue if such incidents were allowed to happen.
Mamata Banerjee warns of protests
TMC supremo and former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee warned that her party could hold protests outside the homes of BJP leaders in New Delhi if such incidents continued. The TMC also sought meetings with President Droupadi Murmu and West Bengal Governor R N Ravi to raise what it described as “utter lawlessness” in the state.
Mamata Banerjee also claimed that around 4,000 TMC offices in villages and towns had been forcibly occupied or looted. She referred to incidents in several districts, including Baruipur, Cooch Behar, Bankura, Garbeta, Howrah, Hooghly, Bardhaman, Birbhum, Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri.
Camac Street office was already under scrutiny
The Camac Street office has also been in the news over a dispute involving Kolkata Municipal Corporation officials. Officials had visited the premises to remove what they described as “illegal hoardings”.
Kolkata Police later registered an FIR against Abhishek Banerjee, TMC Rajya Sabha member Derek O’Brien and others over resistance to municipal officials and police during the removal of the hoarding.
A fire service team subsequently inspected the office and issued a notice over claimed safety lapses.
For now, however, the police investigation into Thursday’s vandalism has not established any BJP or other political connection to the six arrested men. Police say their motive and any possible political link, if one exists, will be examined during questioning.
