A joint team of Kolkata Police, Paschim Medinipur Police and central security personnel conducted an overnight search at Abhishek Banerjee’s Kalighat residence, setting off a fierce political confrontation in West Bengal.
BY PC Bureau
June 13, 2026: An overnight police operation at the Kalighat residence of Trinamool Congress national general secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee snowballed into a major political flashpoint in West Bengal on Saturday, with the TMC accusing authorities of intimidation and opposition leaders defending the action as a lawful investigation.
A joint team of Kolkata Police and Paschim Medinipur Police, accompanied by central security personnel, conducted the search in connection with a case registered at Salboni Police Station in Paschim Medinipur district. According to police sources, officers arrived at the residence late at night and called out to the occupants. When there was allegedly no response, they broke open locks to enter the premises and carried out a search that continued for several hours.
3 AM Saturday June 13.
Police arrive at Abhishek Banerjee’s @abhishekaitc’s Kalighat residence in Kolkata.
5 AM: Disaster Management team called in to break open locks.
6:30 AM: Search begins, from second floor to terrace, lasting 90 minutes.
Outcome? Seizure report says : NIL.… pic.twitter.com/bkMFPYVjf2— Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) June 13, 2026
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Investigators claimed they were looking for one of Banerjee’s aides, who is wanted in connection with a land-related case in Salboni. The operation stretched for more than four hours, with police teams remaining inside the residence through the night and into the morning.
The development prompted an immediate political response. Trinamool Congress leaders condemned the operation, describing it as an attempt to harass and politically target the party’s senior leadership. They questioned the timing and manner of the search, particularly the decision to conduct it at night and in the presence of central security forces.
Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee rushed to the Kalighat residence after learning about the operation. Party leaders alleged that due process had not been followed and accused political opponents of using investigative agencies to exert pressure ahead of crucial political battles in the state.
TRhe ruling BJP, however, maintained that law enforcement agencies must be allowed to carry out investigations without political interference. They argued that if police were acting in connection with a registered case and pursuing a wanted individual, the operation should not be viewed through a partisan lens.
The presence of central forces alongside the state police further intensified the political storm, with the incident dominating political discourse across West Bengal and triggering a fresh war of words between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the opposition.
With both sides hardening their positions, the overnight search has once again brought the fraught relationship between law enforcement and politics in Bengal into sharp focus.
