Kolkata police summon Abhishek Banerjee again over billboard dispute

Kolkata police delivered a fresh questioning notice to MP Abhishek Banerjee's staff on October 11 over a dispute surrounding the removal of a party billboard. The Times of India reported that he was asked to appear on October 12.

Officers from Shakespeare Sarani police station went to the MP's Kalighat home. An earlier attempt on October 7 failed because Banerjee was away and nobody was available to receive the document, an officer told The Hindu.

The investigation concerns an August 27 confrontation at a Camac Street building housing a Trinamool Congress office. Kolkata Municipal Corporation alleged that police and civic workers faced harassment and assault while trying to remove signage carrying the party's name and symbol.

Three criminal cases were registered over the incident. Banerjee has already spent several hours answering investigators' questions in one of them, and police now seek a further interview. A summons does not establish guilt.

Party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh condemned the police action, describing it as political pressure. The fire department had separately issued a notice relating to the same premises.