Forged signature case: CID to question Abhishek Banerjee, Kunal Ghosh

Bengal CID's SIT will likely question TMC's Abhishek Banerjee and Kunal Ghosh on Sunday in a signature forgery case. The probe is about alleged discrepancies in a document for appointing the LoP. Abhishek was already questioned for 5.5 hours.

As part of its investigation in the forged signature case, Bengal CID's Special Investigation Team (SIT) is likely to question Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and party MLA Kunal Ghosh on Sunday, sources said.

Abhishek Banerjee is scheduled to be questioned around 12 noon, while party MLA Kunal Ghosh will be questioned in the afternoon, the sources said. The investigation pertains to alleged discrepancies in signatures on a document submitted to the West Bengal Assembly Speaker for the appointment of Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as Leader of Opposition (LoP).

Background of the Investigation

On June 13, Banerjee was questioned by Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for nearly 5.5 hours in connection with a signature forgery case at Bhabani Bhawan, the agency's headquarters in Kolkata's Alipore area. The case stems from a complaint alleging irregularities in a resolution submitted to the West Bengal Legislative Assembly regarding the appointment of Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the state assembly, Asima Patra and Nayna Bandyopadhyay as Deputy LoP, and Firhad Hakim as Chief Whip.

Timeline of Complaint

Abhishek informed the West Bengal Assembly Speaker on May 9 that the party had taken the decision to appoint office-bearers during a meeting of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) legislative party.

Subsequently, on May 18, the Principal Secretary of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly wrote to Banerjee seeking submission of the minutes and resolution of the meeting, along with signatures of MLAs present during the decision-making process.

On May 20, Abhishek submitted a copy of the meeting resolution book with an attendance sheet containing the signatures of the members present in the concerned meeting, which mentioned that 70 MLAs were present at the meeting held on May 6.

Allegations and Subsequent Action

On May 27, two TMC MLAs filed a complaint before the Speaker alleging that no resolution had been adopted regarding the LoP selection on May 6 and that they had only signed the meeting resolution book on May 19. The complainants also alleged that the resolution dated May 6 was "manufactured and fabricated", with as many as 14 signatures appearing in block letters.

The CID has recorded statements of 13 MLAs whose "signatures were in block letters". The Trinamool Congress later suspended its MLAs Sandipan Saha and Ritabrata Banerjee for "anti-party activities". (ANI)

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