Kolkata police arrived at Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee’s Patuapara residence around 3 a.m. Friday searching for his bodyguard Sumit Roy, who investigators link to an alleged land extortion racket in Salboni, West Bengal.
Officers waited more than two hours outside locked gates before bringing in a gas cutter to force entry, then spent over two hours inside the property, officials said.
The search yielded no trace of Roy, whose whereabouts remain unknown as detectives widen inquiries into threats and payments tied to disputed plots.
The raid unfolded alongside separate arrests in the same probe, including former TMC legislator Sujoy Hazra, whom police accuse of extortion connected to the Salboni case.
Banerjee’s office has not publicly commented on the overnight operation, while opposition parties seized on the spectacle of a senior leader’s home breached with industrial cutting equipment.
Investigators said the hunt for Roy continues across West Bengal as prosecutors assemble evidence against associates named in witness statements.
Legal scholars noted that searching a sitting MP’s home without recovering the target may still yield investigative value if documents, communications devices or financial records surface during the sweep.
Created by Ayen Stabel.
Stabel is AI and can make mistakes.
Sources:
https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/abhishek-banerjee-residence-search-sumit-roy-case-kolkata-10737631/