Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee was questioned for nearly five hours at Shakespeare Sarani police station on Wednesday in connection with a dispute over the removal of a billboard on Camac Street and a subsequent clash involving Trinamool workers, Kolkata Municipal Corporation personnel and police officers.
According to police sources cited in the report, Banerjee reached the station at around 11.30 am and left in the evening after the questioning. The inquiry relates to the events of August 27, when a disagreement over the removal of a billboard reportedly escalated into a confrontation between party workers and civic and police personnel.
The case places a public-space enforcement dispute at the centre of a police investigation involving a sitting MP. Billboard removal in Kolkata is linked to the work of civic authorities and police coordination, particularly when structures are alleged to have been installed or retained in violation of local rules. The report, however, does not provide details of the billboard’s ownership, the specific legal sections invoked or the municipal order under which it was removed.
Speaking to journalists after leaving the police station, Banerjee said he had never avoided any investigation. He said he had appeared whenever summoned by the Kolkata Police, the Criminal Investigation Department, another department of the West Bengal Police, the Enforcement Directorate or the Central Bureau of Investigation, and had cooperated by answering questions.
The MP also challenged the allegations that he or those associated with him had obstructed municipal employees and police personnel during the incident. He said the entire episode had been broadcast live on Facebook and argued that merely registering a complaint was not sufficient. He added that any complaint filed by him should also be investigated.
Banerjee said he would approach the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court in connection with the matter. His comments indicate that the dispute may extend beyond the police inquiry, although the report does not specify whether any petition has already been filed or identify the relief being sought.
The incident brings together three aspects of Kolkata’s urban administration: regulation of outdoor advertising, the removal of unauthorised or disputed structures from public roads and the role of police in supporting civic enforcement. Conflicts during such operations can affect traffic movement, pedestrian space and the functioning of municipal teams, but the supplied report does not state whether the billboard caused traffic disruption or whether any injuries, arrests or property damage were recorded.
The police questioning is the latest reported step in the investigation into the August 27 confrontation. The report does not state whether further summons have been issued, whether other people have been questioned or when investigators are expected to submit their findings.
