Abhishek questioned by cops for 5.5 hrs over billboard showdown at Camac St office
Times of India | 2 September 2026
Kolkata: Trinamool national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee was questioned for five-and-a-half hours at Shakespeare Sarani police station on Tuesday following a notice linked to a violent scuffle at his 9, Camac Street office over an alleged illegal party billboard.
Banerjee arrived at 12.17 pm, surrounded by cheering TMC supporters. Police sources said officers questioned him regarding possession, lease agreements and alleged unauthorised structural modifications at the premises.
The interrogation coincided with notices served on former TMC councillor Baiswanor Chattopadhyay and ex-TMC MLA Humayun Kabir to join the investigation. Police have registered three FIRs — naming Banerjee and senior TMC functionaries in two of them — on charges including obstruction of public servants, molestation, harassment and assault. In all, 14 persons have been arrested.
Emerging from the police station around 6 pm, Banerjee alleged that nearly a thousand police personnel were deployed at his office to “suppress democracy”, clarifying that he did not blame the officers as they were merely performing their duties.
Pointing to “political victimisation”, Banerjee raised the recent fire safety audit conducted at his office: “When people died in a fire at Tarapith and when 4,000 EVMs were destroyed in a fire in Alipore no fire audits were conducted. No urgency then. No spectacle then.”
Speaking on the audit, the fire and emergency services department said on Tuesday severe safety violations were uncovered on the sixth and seventh floors of the Camac Street building — including an expired fire safety certificate, a non-functional fire alarm, inadequate exits, dry risers and stored LPG cylinders.
Authorities have issued a notice under Section 37A of West Bengal Fire Services Act, giving the property owner and occupiers 48 hours to show cause why the floors should not be sealed.
Hitting out at BJP, Banerjee claimed govt, lacking a genuine public mandate, acted out of fear. He also attacked CM Suvendu Adhikari on the Narada allegations. Dismissing charges of molestation during the Camac Street showdown, Banerjee maintained that video footage would show police personnel dragging party workers down the stairs.
Bengal urban development minister Agnimitra Paul said: “Abhishek Banerjee may be the prince of our country but he is not above the Constitution... The way Abhishek heckled the police that day, our corporation employees were pushed. Why did you do it? First of all, you don’t have a govt. If you think since you have run govt for 15 years and will continue to run it like this, it will not happen...”
The controversy began last Thursday when Kolkata Municipal Corporation officials attempted to dismantle an unauthorised TMC billboard hanging precariously from the building. Municipal staff and police were reportedly obstructed and physically assaulted by TMC workers. In response, Banerjee issued a counter-challenge: “Let them do whatever they can. If they think false cases and arrests will intimidate us, they are living in a fool’s paradise.”
Union MoS Sukanta Majumdar said: “He has lost his party. He is left with nothing to do, so he is doing drama. He thinks of himself as Shah Rukh Khan. Derek O’Brien considers himself Suniel Shetty. They will realise things once the court holds them accountable.”