The West Bengal Criminal Investigation Department on Tuesday searched the Kolkata home of Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, reported The Indian Express. The action was part of an investigation into allegedly forged signatures in a letter submitted to support the appointment of Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.

Mamata Banerjee was in Delhi on Tuesday, according to ANI. Her residence is also an office of the Opposition party.

The action came after TMC National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee skipped summons, News18 reported. Abhishek Banerjee is Mamata Banerjee’s nephew.

Rebel TMC MLAs Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha, who have been expelled from the party, have alleged that 14 of the signatures were forged in documents submitted to Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose in support of Chattopadhyay’s appointment.

Fissures within TMC

On June 3, Ritabrata Banerjee claimed that Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose had accepted the claim of 58 of the party’s 80 MLAs to be the main Opposition in the state.

Earlier that day, the 58 MLAs submitted to the speaker, without the party’s letterhead, a list mentioning Mamata Banerjee as the party’s leader, Ritabrata Banerjee as the leader of the Opposition, and Sheuli Saha, Javed Khan, Sandipan Saha and Sabina Yasmin as the deputy leaders in the House.

Ritabrata Banerjee, who led the group, claimed that the speaker has accepted these demands.

The stand taken by the 58 MLAs is being viewed as a challenge to party chief Mamata Banerjee, who is supporting Chattopadhyay as the Opposition leader in the House.

On June 2, Abhishek Banerjee sent a fresh letter to Bose, reiterating the party’s decision to appoint Chattopadhyay as leader of the Opposition.

Edited by Sneha.