The West Bengal CID on Sunday interrogated TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee for over eight hours and MLA Kunal Ghosh for nearly four hours in connection with alleged forgery of legislators’ signatures on documents related to the appointment of the Leader of Opposition.
Published Date – 14 June 2026, 09:45 PM
Kolkata: The West Bengal CID on Sunday conducted marathon questioning of TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee and party MLA Kunal Ghosh in connection with its probe into the alleged forgery of legislators’ signatures on documents related to the appointment of the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, officials said.
The TMC national general secretary was questioned in the case for the second time in four days.
Banerjee, who appeared before investigators at the CID headquarters ‘Bhawani Bhavan’ in south Kolkata in the morning, was questioned for more than eight-and-a-half hours before he left for his Kalighat residence in the evening.
Ghosh, the MLA from Beleghata, was interrogated for nearly four hours.
The latest round of questioning comes amid a series of investigations involving the TMC MP, who is facing scrutiny from multiple agencies in different cases.
Speaking to reporters after emerging from the CID office, Ghosh claimed that he and Banerjee were questioned face-to-face during part of the interrogation.
“I have answered all their questions. I have cooperated with their investigation,” he said.
According to a well-placed source in the investigating agency, CID officers first questioned the two leaders separately before bringing them together for a joint session.
“The interrogation has been documented. Questions were asked about the meetings that took place, who attended them, who signed the resolution and how the documents were prepared and submitted,” the source said.
Investigators were reportedly seeking clarification on certain responses provided by Banerjee during his earlier questioning and had therefore summoned him again.
During his first round of interrogation on June 11, the TMC leader was asked about the circumstances under which the resolution backing the party’s nominee for the post of Leader of Opposition was prepared and signed.
The controversy stems from events following the recent Assembly elections.
On May 6, TMC legislators met at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Kalighat residence and proposed the name of senior party leader Sovandeb Chattopadhyay for the post of Leader of Opposition. Legislators present at the meeting allegedly expressed support through a show of hands.
However, the proposal was not immediately submitted to the Assembly Secretariat.
After the swearing-in of TMC legislators on May 13 and 14, the Assembly Secretariat sought a formal resolution from the party naming its nominee for the post.
A fresh meeting was subsequently held on May 19, after which a document carrying the signatures of 70 legislators in support of Chattopadhyay was submitted to the Assembly.
Questions later surfaced after alleged discrepancies were noticed in signatures appearing on different documents submitted by TMC legislators.
The allegations eventually led to the registration of an FIR and the launch of a CID investigation. The agency has since questioned several MLAs as part of its probe.
The Calcutta High Court had earlier directed Banerjee to cooperate with the investigation while observing that no coercive action would be taken against him for two weeks.
Acting on the court’s direction, Banerjee had appeared before the CID headquarters in the evening of June 11 and was questioned for nearly five-and-a-half hours.
The pressure on the TMC leader has continued to mount over the past few days.
On Friday, CID officers visited his Kalighat residence to serve a notice in connection with a cyber complaint lodged over certain remarks allegedly made by him. Investigators initially found him unavailable but later handed over the notice after he returned home.
Banerjee has been asked to appear before the CID on June 16 in connection with the cyber case.
He has publicly maintained that he would cooperate with all investigations.
Adding to his legal and political challenges, the Enforcement Directorate has summoned Banerjee on June 15 in connection with its probe into the alleged primary school recruitment irregularities case.
Sunday’s developments come a day after a pre-dawn search operation linked to another investigation triggered a fresh political storm in West Bengal, with sections of the ruling TMC alleging that Banerjee was being selectively targeted through a succession of investigations.
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