A scuffle broke out between the private guards at Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee’s office on Camac Street and the West Bengal Police on Thursday after the latter arrived with Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) officials to remove a billboard allegedly installed without permission.
According to the information, Banerjee and some TMC leaders blocked the path of the police and KMC officials, which led to jostling that continued for around an hour.
However, the TMC's Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien, who was present at Banerjee's office during the raid, rejected the reports of resistance attempts by private guards as "fake news".
He stated that the guards were posted at the entrance of the building. The billboard at Banerjee's, bearing the TMC symbol, was set up on an iron structure facing the road on the top floor of the building.
It was dismantled by the KMC personnel after police forced their way inside. O'Brien accused the police of barging into the office with an "illegal" notice. He said that the notice "was unsigned and incomplete, lacking key details". He also accused the cops of assaulting senior leaders and heckling party supporters and office staff.
Banerjee was present at the premises at the time of the raid and live-streamed the entire incident on Facebook. He was seen engaged in a heated exchange with the officials.
Speaking on the live streaming, Banerjee said, "The police acted beyond their jurisdiction. They forcefully entered my office although the billboard is placed on the roof. Our MP Derek O’Brien and several members of my office staff, including women, were injured. We will move the Calcutta High Court tomorrow".
"The police have become the Bharatiya Janata Party’s slave. There are 400 BJP billboards on Camac Street. They will not remove even one,” Banerjee added.
Initially, the raiding team was questioned over the validity of the order they carried. Upon being confronted, they left the spot and returned shortly with a fresh order.
Accompanied by a reinforced police contingent, the KMC officials forced their way inside the building and all the way to the roof to remove the hoarding.
"The police are more eager than the KMC to get inside. They say they have come for an inspection, but they carried a gas cutter instead of measuring tapes.
O'Brien and the party's former councillor Baiswanar Chatterjee sustained injuries in the altercation. Amid the pandemonium, O'Brien stumbled and fell on the staircase.
Meanwhile, the videos also showed cops getting pushed and shoved by the building's private security personnel and TMC supporters, even as they forced their way to the upper floors through the staircase.
(With PTI Inputs)