A joint police team conducted an early morning raid at the Kalighat residence of All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee in Kolkata on Saturday, 13 June, drawing sharp condemnation from party leaders who called it an act of political intimidation. The operation, which began at 3 am and lasted until around 8 am, yielded no evidence, according to the seizure report.

What Happened During the Raid

The joint team — comprising personnel from West Midnapore district police, Kolkata Police, and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) — arrived at Banerjee's Kalighat home at 3 am to trace his executive assistant Sumit Roy, who is named in a case registered at Salboni Police Station in West Midnapore. By 5 am, a Disaster Management team was called in to break open locks. The search, covering the second floor through to the terrace, began at 6:30 am and lasted approximately 90 minutes. The official seizure report recorded: nil — no evidence, no wrongdoing.

Sagarika Ghose's Scathing Rebuke

Trinamool Rajya Sabha member Sagarika Ghose issued a blistering statement on social media, shared via the Trinamool Congress party's official handle. Ghose described the pre-dawn operation as evidence of 'political vendetta, intimidation and mental torture.' In her post, she provided a minute-by-minute account of the raid and attached a copy of the search report to substantiate her claims.

'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. No evidence. No wrongdoing. NOTHING. Just political vendetta, intimidation and mental torture. Operation Lotus is targeting every leader who refuses to surrender to the BJP's diktat. Disgraceful attack on an opposition leader. VINDICTIVE, CONNIVING, scumbag LOW LIFE tactics. SHAME,' Ghose wrote.

Ghose also alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was deliberately targeting opposition leaders who had refused to yield to its pressure, framing the raid under what she called 'Operation Lotus.'

The Broader Legal Context

The raid comes on the eve of a significant legal development: Abhishek Banerjee is scheduled to appear before the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Sunday, 14 June, for interrogation in a separate probe. That case involves alleged mismatches in the signatures of certain Trinamool legislators on a resolution concerning appointments to key Opposition posts in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. Trinamool legislator Kunal Ghosh has also been summoned by the CID on the same day, and sources indicate that investigators are likely to question Banerjee and Ghosh together.

Political Significance

This is not the first time Abhishek Banerjee's household has been the focus of law enforcement attention, and the timing — hours before his CID appearance — has deepened the political temperature in West Bengal. Critics argue the sequence of events reflects a pattern of pressure on TMC leadership, while authorities maintain the raid was a routine operational step to locate an absconding accused. The absence of any seizure has given the TMC fresh ammunition to press its narrative of state-sponsored harassment.