Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary and Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee on Friday alleged that unidentified individuals had been conducting reconnaissance of his office and residence in Kolkata for the past two days, claiming that they identified themselves as police personnel when confronted. He demanded an immediate inquiry into the suspected surveillance and sought to know who authorised it and for what purpose, news agency ANI reported.

Source: ANI

In a post on X, Banerjee said: "For the past two days few unidentified individuals have been conducting reconnaissance of my office and residence. The registration number of their motorcycle is mentioned below. When confronted, they claimed to be police personnel." Questioning the alleged involvement of the state police, he added: "Why is the State Police allegedly spying on and snooping around the office and residence of an elected Member of Parliament? Who authorised this surveillance and for what purpose?"

Banerjee said he was bringing the matter to the attention of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Kolkata Police, the Ministry of Home Affairs and West Bengal Police. "I demand an immediate and thorough inquiry to establish the identity of these individuals, who sent them and to uncover the nefarious motive behind this suspected conspiracy," he said. The ANI report carried no response from West Bengal Police or the state government, and the surveillance claim remains an allegation that is yet to be established.

A day after the planted-cash allegation

The allegation comes a day after Banerjee, addressing the media in Kolkata on Thursday, accused the West Bengal administration and police of planting money to frame his personal assistant Sumit Roy, who is in police custody in a multi-crore soil-theft case registered at Kalitala-Ashuti police station in the Diamond Harbour Police District. Police had said cash worth Rs 1,02,79,000 was recovered from a Trinamool Congress party office at Sarisha during Roy's interrogation — a recovery Banerjee alleges was fabricated.

"Between 1:00 AM and 3:00 AM, around three to four hours before taking Sumit Roy away, an XUV 300 arrived at the scene and planted money there. I have evidence to prove this. We are approaching the High Court, and if necessary, we will also move the Supreme Court. My personal assistant (PA) has been arrested in a fabricated case," Banerjee said on Thursday. He demanded the removal of the state's Home Minister and criminal proceedings against senior Diamond Harbour Police District officers, including its Superintendent of Police, alleging they were responsible for planting false evidence.

Banerjee also raised concerns over the safety of his arrested assistant, alleging that a political opponent had posted Roy's photograph on Facebook alongside a demand for his killing in a staged encounter. "Where is our judiciary? Where is our Constitution? West Bengal has been turned into a police state," he said.