Abhishek Banerjee questioned for four hours over post targeting CEC, Gujarati community

MAITC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee was questioned by Kolkata Police for nearly four hours on Saturday in connection with an FIR registered over a social media post allegedly targeting Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Gujarati community.

The Diamond Harbour MP appeared at Bhowanipur police station ahead of the scheduled time of 12.30 pm in response to a notice served on him. He left the premises after nearly four hours of questioning.

As Banerjee emerged from the police station, BJP supporters gathered outside allegedly raised slogans of "chor, chor" (thief, thief), triggering a verbal confrontation with MAITC supporters.

MAITC workers countered the slogans and alleged that the BJP had paid people small amounts of money to protest against Banerjee.

They also raised questions about unemployment in the state and claimed that the promised benefits under the Annapurna scheme for one crore people had not materialised.

𝗙𝗜𝗥 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁

The FIR was registered on May 27 following a complaint filed by Bhowanipur resident Arnab Kanti Das concerning a post made by Banerjee on X on May 2.

According to the complaint, Banerjee had allegedly described Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar as a "puppet of the anti-Bengali Gujarati gang".

Das alleged that the remarks could promote hatred against a particular community and hurt the sentiments of Gujarati people.

The complainant described the statements as irresponsible and potentially damaging to communal harmony and national integrity.

He further contended that referring to the Gujarati community as a "gang" or criminal syndicate amounted to an insult to the community and could undermine India's pluralistic culture and social cohesion.

Based on the complaint, police registered a case under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including sections dealing with promoting enmity, statements conducive to public mischief, incitement to violence and disturbance of public order.

The allegations remain under investigation.

𝗔𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲𝗱

Saturday's questioning comes amid a series of police cases involving Banerjee since the BJP came to power in West Bengal.

The MAITC leader has appeared before police and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on several occasions in connection with different cases.

On Friday, police personnel visited Banerjee's residence to serve another notice, asking him to appear before Girish Park police station in connection with a separate FIR.

In that case, the Diamond Harbour MP has been accused of allegedly threatening police personnel through a social media post.

He has been directed to appear at Girish Park police station on November 20.

The latest questioning and the fresh summons come amid continuing political tensions between the BJP and MAITC in West Bengal.