Days after serving notice to Abhishek Banerjee, the Crime Investigation Department team on Thursday evening visited the residence of TMC MLA and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim in connection with the signature forgery case.

According to CID sources, the agency questioned Hakim in the case, recorded his statement and took his sample signatures for investigative purposes.

TMC MLAs Nayana Bandyopadhyay, Kunal Ghosh, Baharul Islam, and Chandranath Sinha have already been questioned by the CID in the matter. Samples of their signature and handwriting were also collected.

The case pertains to alleged irregularities in the process for selecting the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the state Assembly. The controversy centres around a meeting called by TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee at her Kalighat residence, where discussions were held regarding the naming of the LoP.

The TMC legislative party had, in accordance with the rules, recently sent a letter to the Assembly Secretary declaring Ballygunge MLA Shobhandeb Chattopadhyay as the LoP. However, it was alleged that on the day the document was submitted, several TMC MLAs were not even present in the Assembly. This raised doubts on the authenticity of the signatures.

It was also alleged that there were discrepancies in MLA Nayana Bandyopadhyay’s signature, following which a complaint was filed at the Hare Street police station.

TMC’s second-in-command Abhishek Banerjee was also summoned at the CID office in connection with the case. However, after the assault at Sonarpur on Saturday, Abhishek skipped the appearance and sought further time from CID. He also pleaded to the High Court, seeking relief from any harsh action against him in this case.