Trouble mounts for Abhishek as Tripura court issues notice in 2021 case

A lower court in Tripura has issued a summon to Trinamool Congress (TMC) general secretary Abhishek Banerjee ordering him to appear in person at the Khowai district court on June 22.

The notice was forwarded to the Alipore district court with instructions to either serve the notice directly to the Diamond Harbour MP or affix it to the door of his residence.

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Acting on the court’s directive, the police knocked at Abhishek’s Harish Chatterjee Street home to serve him that notice. TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh accepted the notice in his absence as Abhishek, who is largely seen as TMC’s second-in-command, is currently in Delhi.

What is the case about?

In early August 2021, Trinamool youth leaders were attacked by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activists while en route to a party event in Tripura. TMC spokesperson Debangshu Bhattacharya had claimed that party leaders Sudip Raha and Jaya Dutta were injured in the attack, in which Bhattacharya was also present. While Sudip Raha suffered a head injury, Jaya Dutta sustained an injury to her ear.

Following the incident, BJP and TMC supporters staged road blockades on National Highway 8, which prompted the police to fire tear gas shells to bring the situation under control and also arrested some TMC workers.

Responding to this, Abhishek Banerjee and Kunal Ghosh staged a sit-in protest at the Khowai police station, demanding the release of those detained. Since the charges filed were non-bailable, the arrested leaders were produced in court. Abhishek was present throughout the entire legal process and monitored the case closely.

When the party leaders were granted bail, TMC workers staged sit-in protests against the BJP government in Tripura during which Jaya Dutta and Debangshu Bhattacharya warned that such tactics would not deter them.

The Tripura Police had registered a case stemming from that day’s sit-in protest. The Khowai court in Tripura has now summoned Abhishek Banerjee in connection with this case.

Abhishek Banerjee faces numerous allegations of corruption and has long been under the scanneer of the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation.