Senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O'Brien on Monday skipped an appearance before the Kolkata Police over last week's scuffle outside party MP Abhishek Banerjee's office on Camac Street here, the former's lawyers said, sending a communication to the law enforcers, questioning the validity of the summons.
O'Brien was summoned by Kolkata Police to appear at Shakespeare Sarani police station on Monday noon for questioning in connection with the August 27 confrontation during a Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) drive to remove an allegedly unauthorised hoarding from the premises.
O'Brien's lawyers said they informed the police that the summons was "not in order" and that the TMC MP would, therefore, not appear before the investigating officer on Monday.
Abhishek Banerjee summoned next
The development comes a day after police served a similar notice on TMC national general secretary and Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee, asking him to appear for questioning on Tuesday in connection with the same incident.
A team of three officers from the Shakespeare Sarani police station visited O'Brien's residence on Prince Anwar Shah Road on Sunday morning to serve the notice. As the MP was away, his staffers accepted the summons on his instructions, police sources said.
Police had earlier attempted to serve the notice on Saturday evening.
CCTV footage cited by police
The summons to O'Brien followed CCTV footage purportedly showing him attempting to prevent police personnel from entering the Camac Street premises during the civic body's drive.
The police have registered three separate FIRs in connection with the incident, invoking provisions relating to assault, obstruction of public servants and rioting. Banerjee's summons relates to two of the cases, police sources said.