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Kolkata Police, Fire Department officials visit Abhishek Banerjee’s office - The Hindu
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The Hindu
AUG 31, 2026, 9:50 PM
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Kolkata Police, Fire Department officials visit Abhishek Banerjee’s office - The Hindu

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The visit came only four days after a team of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) officials and Kolkata Police also visited the premises to remove an electric billboard that also led to a clash between the officials and the Trinamool Congress workers.

On Monday (August 31), fire department officials inspected the safety arrangements at the premises. Officials from the department, however, cited it as a routine exercise and said that the premises would be assessed based on applicable fire safety and building norms. They also stated that a few more inspections may be conducted in the premises in the next few days to examine to building plan.

The latest visit comes amid a political controversy over Mr Banerjee’s Camac Street office, with the Trinamool Congress alleging that the administration's repeated actions were politically motivated.

A billboard reading ‘All India Trinamool Congress’ was put on the top of a building located at 9 Camac Street, and a large part of the premises serves as the office of Mr. Banerjee. The police and the KMC officials argued that several offices are located in the building and a billboard of a political party cannot be put on it.

A large number of police personnel, along with some officials of KMC, arrived at the address and tried to enter the building to remove the billboard around 3.30 p.m. Mr. Banerjee and other Trinamool leaders tried to stop the police and asked them if they had necessary orders to enter the building.

For the next one-and-a-half hours, a heated exchange broke out between the Trinamool Congress leaders and police and municipal officials. Trinamool Congress supporters raised slogans but the police eventually forced their way inside and removed the banner. Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’ Brien fell on the stairs as police and other officials reached the roof to remove the hoarding. Videos shared by the Trinamool Congress on social media showed pushing and shoving between party supporters and the police personnel.

Next morning on Friday (August 28, 2026), Kolkata Police and KMC lodged three FIRs against Mr. Banerjee and and Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien, and several other party leaders on Friday (August 28, 2026) for allegedly assaulting police and obstructing them from discharging their duty.

At least 14 people have so far been arrested in these three cases so far.

TMC leader Mr. Banerjee said these incidents raise ‘touching concerns’. Taking X, he wrote, “If only this enthusiasm had surfaced when 4,000 Control Units, 4,000 Ballot Units and 4,000 VVPATs mysteriously went up in flames within a month of the polls. No urgency then. No spectacle then. Apparently, democracy can burn without an audit, but an Opposition party office cannot escape one.”

“Perhaps the fire audit was simply conducted at the wrong address. Had this remarkable vigilance reached the government office in Alipore in time, the EVMs might have survived. And perhaps a few masks would have burnt instead,” he said.

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Kolkata Police, Fire Department officials visit Abhishek Banerjee’s office - The Hindu | Antigravity News