The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has sent notices to 17 addresses allegedly linked to Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee for purported unauthorised construction, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday.
However, the TMC claimed that the notices and media reports about them were “false, fabricated and devoid of any credibility”.
The notices came days after a first information report and a police complaint were filed against Banerjee. They also come against the backdrop of the Bharatiya Janata Party defeating the TMC in the Assembly elections on May 4.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation is administered by the TMC.
On Monday, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said that he had sought details of properties linked to TMC leaders, including Banerjee, from the Municipal Affairs Department and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation commissioner, The Hindu reported.
In the notices, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation has reportedly sought documents related to building plan approvals and clarification on whether permissions were taken for additional construction, along with details about installations such as lifts and escalators, according to The Indian Express.
It further directed the demolition of unauthorised construction within seven days if the owners do not show cause for why such action should not be taken.
The civic body added that it would carry out demolitions and recover the cost from the owners if no satisfactory response is received, reported The Indian Express.
The notices were sent to several residential and organisational properties, including those allegedly linked to Banerjee’s parents and his company, Leaps and Bounds Private Limited, according to the newspaper.
Adhikari on Monday said that the first person he had sought details of from the municipal corporation was the TMC’s Raju Naskar, who he claimed had 18 properties.
“Second is Kasba’s Sona Pappu, who has 24 properties,” the newspaper quoted him as saying. “Third is bhatija [nephew], Abhishek Banerjee. There are 14 properties registered in the name of the Leaps and Bounds company, four in his own name, and six in the name of his father.”
The chief minister added that the fourth person he had asked for details about was the son of TMC MLA Javed Ahmed Khan. He had 90 properties, Adhikari alleged.
‘Notice completely false’: TMC
The TMC stated that it had seen media reports and posts related to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation notices to Banerjee and other party leaders, adding that it had been leaked “unofficially” by the BJP.
“The notice and the media coverage over the last few days are completely false, fabricated and devoid of any credibility,” the party stated.
It added: “We urge the media fraternity to exercise sensitivity & responsibility instead of promoting such fabricated posts and stories. Any false reporting or misleading posts will be dealt with appropriately in accordance with the provisions of law before the competent court.”
On social media, TMC leader Saket Gokhale retweeted a list shared by Rahul Shivshankar, editorial affairs director at CNN-News18, about the properties allegedly linked to Banerjee that had been served notices.
Gokhale said that the document was a “complete hoax and inaccurate” and that it had nothing to do with Banerjee.
“Which begs the question – what’s the ‘source’?” the TMC leader said, adding that Shivshankar had “got it from the BJP and posted it as ordered”.
Previous action against Banerjee
The alleged notices were served days after the police on May 15 filed an FIR against Banerjee for allegedly provocative speeches he made during campaigning for the Assembly elections, including alleged threats directed at Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The FIR was based on a complaint filed by a man identified as Rajib Sarkar on May 5, a day after the election results were announced, at the Baguiati Police Station. His complaint alleged that Banerjee made inflammatory remarks during campaign events held between April 27 and May 3.
Two days later, former TMC minister Giasuddin Molla filed a police complaint against Banerjee, alleging threats and intimidation. He also named Mithun Kumar Dey, the former sub-divisional police officer in the 24 Parganas’ Diamond Harbour subdivision, in the complaint.
On Monday, Banerjee moved the Calcutta High Court seeking quashing of the FIR filed against him for allegedly making inflammatory remarks during campaigning, The Hindu reported.
Edited by Sneha.
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