5.5-hour CID interrogation for Abhishek Banerjee, fresh summons issued on June 14

CID officials said his responses were not fully satisfactory and that he reportedly skipped several questions during the interrogation.

He has now been asked to reappear for questioning on June 14 at 12 pm.

High court-directed appearance amid ongoing probe

Banerjee’s appearance came after the Calcutta High Court directed him to cooperate with the CID investigation and appear at 6 pm on Thursday, while granting him interim protection from coercive action for three weeks.

Signature forgery allegations under scanner

The case stems from allegations that signatures of TMC MLAs were forged on a letter submitted to the West Bengal Assembly Speaker, recommending senior leader Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as Leader of Opposition.

Abhishek Banerjee left the CID office on Thursday night after 5.5 hours of questioning. Photo: IBNS

The complaint was filed by TMC legislators Ritabarta Banerjee and Sandipan Saha, triggering an FIR and a formal CID probe into how the document was prepared and submitted.

Investigators are examining whether proper procedures were followed and how the disputed signatures appeared on the letter dated May 20.

Earlier summons and party office search

Banerjee had earlier skipped three CID summons, citing health reasons and requesting additional time to respond.

Abhishek Banerjee reached the CID headquarters earlier in the day at Bhavani Bhawan in Kolkata to join probe. Photo: IBNS

The development also comes amid a parallel legal challenge by the Trinamool Congress against a CID search operation at the party office near former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s residence in Kolkata’s Kalighat area, carried out on June 9 as part of the same investigation.

The probe continues as the CID prepares for further questioning later this week.