CAMAC STREET BILLBOARD CLASH RETURNS TO SPOTLIGHT AS POLICE RENEW SUMMONS FOR ABHISHEK BANERJEE
October 12, 2026
Kolkata Police have issued a fresh notice to Trinamool Congress national general secretary and Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee, asking him to appear at Shakespeare Sarani police station on Monday for questioning in connection with the August 27 confrontation over the removal of a billboard at the party’s Camac Street office.
A police team visited Banerjee’s Kalighat residence on Sunday after he returned to Kolkata from Delhi. The notice was received by his brother, Akash Banerjee, according to police sources. Officers had attempted to serve the notice at the residence the previous week but returned without delivering it because Abhishek was reportedly not at home.
The case concerns a confrontation at the Trinamool Congress office at 9, Camac Street, where Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) officials, accompanied by police personnel, arrived on August 27 to dismantle a large rooftop billboard bearing the party’s name and signage. The civic body maintained that the structure was unauthorised.
The attempted removal triggered a scuffle involving police personnel, municipal officials, Abhishek’s private security guards, Trinamool supporters and party leaders. KMC workers eventually dismantled the billboard after police entered the premises.
Three FIRs were registered at Shakespeare Sarani police station on August 28 in connection with the incident. The complaints contain allegations including obstruction of public servants in the discharge of their duties, criminal intimidation and assault. One complaint was lodged by an official of the KMC’s advertisement department, another followed a requisition from the civic body, and the third was filed by a police sergeant.
Abhishek has been named in two of the cases, alongside senior Trinamool leaders, including Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien and former MLA Humayun Kabir. The police have also raised allegations of misconduct involving a woman officer.
The latest notice is not the first time Abhishek has been questioned in connection with the controversy. He appeared at Shakespeare Sarani police station on September 1 and underwent questioning for approximately six hours.
The Trinamool leadership has challenged the manner in which the billboard was removed. Abhishek previously alleged that civic officials had acted arbitrarily and questioned the validity of the notice authorising the operation. The dispute has consequently extended beyond the physical removal of the structure to questions about municipal authority, police conduct and the handling of the confrontation.
Monday’s scheduled appearance is expected to form part of the continuing investigation into the three FIRs and the competing allegations arising from the incident. The fresh notice signals that police are continuing to pursue their inquiries, while the political dispute over the operation at the Trinamool office remains unresolved.
