Abhishek Banerjee aide's wife moves Calcutta HC over Bengal Police torture, seeks CBI probe
Synopsis
The wife of Abhishek Banerjee's Executive Assistant has moved the Calcutta High Court alleging custodial torture by West Bengal Police and demanding a CBI takeover of two criminal cases — a land-grabbing charge and a multi-crore soil-theft case. With Abhishek Banerjee personally claiming his aide is being pressured to testify against him, and ₹1 crore reportedly recovered from a TMC office, the case has escalated into a direct clash between Bengal's ruling party and its own state police machinery.
Key Takeaways
Sushmita Roy filed a petition before Justice Partha Sarathi Chatterjee at the Calcutta High Court on 9 November 2026 , alleging custodial torture of her husband Sumit Roy .
Sumit Roy is Executive Assistant to TMC General Secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee ; he faces charges in an illegal land-grabbing case at Salboni and a multi-crore soil-theft case.
The petition seeks a CBI probe into both cases and transfer of the Investigating Officers; it has been admitted and will be heard on Tuesday, 10 November 2026 .
Diamond Harbour Police recovered over ₹1 crore from a TMC party office, attributing the tip-off to Sumit Roy — a claim Abhishek Banerjee has strongly denied, alleging the cash was planted.
Abhishek has also alleged that police issued encounter threats against Sumit and pressured him to give statements implicating Banerjee.
Sushmita Roy, wife of Sumit Roy — Executive Assistant to All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) General Secretary and Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha member Abhishek Banerjee — on Monday, 9 November 2026, approached the Calcutta High Court alleging that the West Bengal Police has subjected her husband to mental and physical torture in custody. She has also sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the two criminal cases in which Sumit stands accused.
The Petition and What It Seeks
The petition was filed before a single-judge bench of Justice Partha Sarathi Chatterjee and has been admitted by the court. The matter is scheduled to come up for hearing on Tuesday, 10 November 2026. In her petition, Sushmita has alleged that her husband was booked in what she claims are false cases, and that police are resorting to coercion — including mental and physical pressure — to extract a confession tailored to narratives framed by investigators. She has further sought the transfer of the Investigating Officers probing both cases.
Two Cases Against Sumit Roy
Sumit Roy was first arrested in an alleged illegal land-grabbing case at Salboni in West Midnapore district and subsequently remanded to judicial custody. Earlier this month, he was taken into custody again — this time by Diamond Harbour Police in South 24 Parganas district — in connection with a multi-crore soil-theft case. The two cases form the basis of the custody in which the alleged torture is said to have occurred, according to the petition.
The Cash Recovery Controversy
Adding a sharper political dimension, the Diamond Harbour Police District earlier this month reportedly recovered over ₹1 crore in cash from a Trinamool Congress party office. Police stated they received a tip-off about the hidden cash from Sumit Roy himself. Abhishek Banerjee, however, strongly contested this version, alleging that police were issuing encounter threats against Sumit and pressing him to make statements implicating Banerjee personally. Abhishek also claimed the party office had been vandalised allegedly by BJP-backed individuals around five months ago, and that the recovered cash had been planted by the police.
Political Backdrop
The case sits at the intersection of ongoing factional tensions in West Bengal between the ruling TMC and the BJP. Abhishek Banerjee, a prominent second-generation TMC leader and nephew of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has previously been at the centre of multiple controversies involving state police and central agencies. Critics argue the overlapping investigations — involving both state police and demands for CBI transfer — reflect a broader pattern of contested political accountability in the state. Notably, the demand for CBI intervention mirrors several earlier petitions filed in the Calcutta High Court by individuals close to the TMC or its opponents, underscoring how the court has become a key arena for such disputes.
What Happens Next
With the petition now admitted, Justice Chatterjee's bench will hear the matter on Tuesday. The court may issue directions on Sumit's custody conditions, the CBI transfer request, or the removal of the Investigating Officers. The state government and police are expected to file their response. All eyes will be on whether the high court orders any interim protection for Sumit Roy pending a full hearing.
Point of View
The TMC is essentially arguing that West Bengal's own police machinery is being weaponised against the ruling party's No. 2 leader — a claim that, if true, would signal an extraordinary breakdown of party-state alignment that has defined Bengal politics for over a decade. The parallel demand for CBI intervention is striking given the TMC's historically fierce opposition to central agency probes in the state; it reflects a tactical calculation that an independent investigation may serve better than one controlled by an adversarial police chain of command. Mainstream coverage has focused on the custody angle, but the more consequential question is whether the Calcutta High Court will order any interim relief that disrupts the state police's investigation — and what that signals for the balance of institutional power in Bengal ahead of the 2026 assembly cycle.
NationPress
9 Nov 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Sumit Roy's wife approach the Calcutta High Court?
Sushmita Roy filed a petition before the Calcutta High Court alleging that West Bengal Police subjected her husband Sumit Roy to mental and physical torture in custody to extract a confession. She also sought a CBI probe into the two criminal cases against him and the transfer of the Investigating Officers.
What cases is Sumit Roy accused of?
Sumit Roy faces two cases: an alleged illegal land-grabbing case at Salboni in West Midnapore district, following which he was sent to judicial custody, and a multi-crore soil-theft case in South 24 Parganas district for which Diamond Harbour Police took him into custody again this month.
What is the ₹1 crore cash recovery controversy about?
Diamond Harbour Police recovered over ₹1 crore from a Trinamool Congress party office and said they got the tip-off from Sumit Roy. Abhishek Banerjee rejected this, claiming the cash was planted by police and that the office had been vandalised by alleged BJP-backed individuals around five months earlier.
What has Abhishek Banerjee alleged about the police?
Abhishek Banerjee has alleged that police issued encounter threats against Sumit Roy and pressured him to give statements implicating Banerjee personally. He denied that the cash recovered from the party office had anything to do with Sumit's disclosures, calling it a police plant.
What will happen next in the Calcutta High Court?
The petition has been admitted before Justice Partha Sarathi Chatterjee's bench and is scheduled for hearing on Tuesday, 10 November 2026. The court may pass interim directions on Sumit Roy's custody conditions, the CBI transfer request, or the change of Investigating Officers.
