Six detained after alleged vandalism at Abhishek Banerjee’s Camac Street TMC office in Kolkata
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Six detained after alleged vandalism at Abhishek Banerjee’s Camac Street TMC office in Kolkata")
Kolkata Police arrested six people in connection with vandalism at Abhishek Banerjee’s party office. Photograph: (WION)
Kolkata Police have detained six individuals for questioning in connection with the alleged break-in and vandalism. Investigation is underway. No further official details on the identities of those detained or specific charges were immediately available.
Six people have been detained for questioning by Kolkata Police in connection with the alleged early-morning break-in and vandalism at Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee’s party office on Camac Street in central Kolkata. The incident, reported around 4:30 a.m. on Thursday, has triggered sharp political exchanges between the TMC and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in West Bengal.
According to TMC accounts and CCTV footage shared by the party, a group of masked and helmeted men armed with weapons entered the premises, assaulted staff and security personnel present, snatched mobile phones, smashed furniture, ransacked rooms, and removed electronic equipment including air purifiers, printers, televisions and other gadgets before fleeing. Banerjee, who was in New Delhi at the time, described the episode as a “well-planned attack.”
In a series of posts on X, Banerjee wrote: “This is what the BJP has done to my party office in the early hours of this morning.” He continued: “What happened at Camac Street this morning is a disgraceful assault on the rule of law. 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 premises and destroyed electronic equipment. And where was Kolkata Police? For nearly TWO HOURS, despite repeated calls and emails from our people and lawyers, there was no response. This is outrageous and unacceptable.”
Banerjee demanded the immediate arrest of those involved and an investigation into who planned and directed the alleged violence. He questioned the response of state and central authorities, asking whether the West Bengal Governor, Union Home Minister or Prime Minister’s Office would act, and urged the Calcutta High Court to intervene to uphold the rule of law.
Addressing Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, he said: “Why are you so scared of the Trinamool Congress and of me that you have to resort to this kind of intimidation? If this is how the Opposition is to be treated in West Bengal, through violence, vandalism and intimidation, then the Chief Minister have no moral authority to remain in office. He must resign. This is not democracy. This is political thuggery.” He added that every such act “will be remembered” and “nothing will be forgotten.”
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A TMC statementdescribed the incident similarly, stating that those responsible “knew Shri Abhishek Banerjee is not in town and left for New Delhi last night” and that “BJP goons stormed the office around 4.30 am and ransacked the entire office, assaulted office staff and took away air purifiers, printers, TVs.” Party leaders, including TMC IT cell in-charge Upashna Chaudhary, also alleged involvement by people associated with the BJP and criticised the police for a delayed response.
The BJP rejected the allegations. Baranagar MLA Sajal Ghosh stated that no party worker was involved, saying he could “say with responsibility that no one from the BJP is involved in this incident.” He questioned the presence of TMC workers at the office at that hour and suggested the episode may have been staged.
Kolkata Police have detained six individuals for questioning in connection with the alleged break-in and vandalism. Investigation is underway. No further official details on the identities of those detained or specific charges were immediately available in public statements at the time of reporting. Police sources confirmed the probe is active following the TMC’s complaint and the circulating footage.
The episode occurs against the backdrop of recent tensions surrounding the same Camac Street premises. In late August, Kolkata Municipal Corporation officials, accompanied by police, removed an allegedly unauthorised TMC billboard from the building, leading to a scuffle.
Three FIRs were registered naming Banerjee, Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien and others on charges including unlawful assembly, obstruction of public servants and assault; 13 people were arrested in that earlier matter and sent to judicial custody. Banerjee and other TMC leaders had accused the authorities of political targeting in that case.
