In a dramatic predawn operation that has intensified Bengal's political tensions, police personnel accompanied by central forces searched TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee's Kalighat residence for several hours on Saturday while looking for his close aide Sumit Roy, who is wanted in connection with an alleged financial fraud case, officials said.

The operation, led by a team from Paschim Medinipur's Salboni Police Station and assisted by Kolkata Police personnel, began around 2 am and quickly sparked a political confrontation, with the TMC alleging "political vendetta" and the BJP insisting that investigators were merely following due process.

Former chief minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee rushed to Abhishek Banerjee's residence in Kalighat and remained there until the search concluded and police personnel left the premises.

According to police sources, the raid was aimed at tracing Abhishek's personal assistant Sumit Roy, who is wanted in an ongoing "financial fraud" investigation registered at Salboni Police Station. Investigators said Roy's mobile phone was last traced to Abhishek's residence, prompting the search operation.

Officials claimed the raiding team repeatedly knocked on the doors of the residence but received no response and had to wait outside for nearly four hours before entering the premises.

The TMC alleged that the police team broke open a lock before conducting the search.

"They broke the lock and searched the entire house," Abhishek told reporters after the raiding team left at around 7.30 am following a search that lasted nearly 90 minutes.

Asked whether Roy had been found at the residence, Abhishek said, "You should ask that question to the police who searched my house thoroughly. I am not the spokesperson of the police."

Sources in the investigating team said Roy could not be located despite an extensive search, and the officers left without making any seizures.

The Kalighat residence remained heavily guarded throughout the operation, with central forces deployed in the neighbourhood and personnel from Kalighat and Bhabanipur police stations assisting the search team. Police officials, however, declined to reveal details about the case or the specific evidence they were seeking.

Personnel, including women officers, participated in the search. At one point, some officers briefly stepped outside the residence for consultations before resuming the operation.

Sources said the search for Roy is linked to the June 6 arrest of former TMC MLA and the party's former Paschim Medinipur district president Sujoy Hazra in Kharagpur on charges of extortion and land fraud.

Hazra's arrest had triggered dramatic scenes, with locals allegedly hurling eggs at the police vehicle transporting him. Residents accused him of taking money for government housing construction projects without delivering on promised benefits.

Investigators claimed they had uncovered incriminating evidence of financial transactions between Hazra and Roy in connection with the alleged fraud.

The raid comes at a politically sensitive time for Abhishek, who has faced scrutiny from multiple investigating agencies in recent days.

Just two days ago, the Bengal CID questioned him in connection with the alleged forged-signature case linked to the state assembly. He has been summoned again on June 14 after investigators reportedly found certain aspects of his responses unsatisfactory.

The Calcutta High Court, while directing Abhishek to cooperate with the probe, observed that no coercive action should be taken against him for two weeks.

On Friday, CID officers also visited his Kalighat residence to serve a notice related to a complaint over certain remarks allegedly made by him. Abhishek has been asked to appear before investigators on June 16 in that case.

The Diamond Harbour MP has also been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate on June 15 in connection with the agency's probe into alleged irregularities in primary school recruitments.

The TMC reacted sharply to Saturday's police action.

In a post on X, the party said, "Political vendetta gets from bad to worse."

Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose alleged that police arrived at Abhishek's residence around 3 am and later called in a disaster management team to break open a lock before starting the search.

Claiming that the operation covered the premises from the second floor to the terrace, Ghose said the search lasted around 90 minutes and alleged that the seizure report recorded "nil".

"No evidence. No wrongdoing. Nothing," she wrote on X.

Calling the operation an instance of "political vendetta, intimidation and mental torture", Ghose alleged that leaders unwilling to submit to the BJP were being selectively targeted.

The BJP rejected the allegations and maintained that investigative agencies were acting independently and that no individual was above the law.

"Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek now belong to the past. The people have already punished them for their loot and deception by throwing them out of power. But they must also be held accountable from the Constitutional and legal point of view. The TMC's web of corruption reaches the very top, and its leaders must go through this process. No one can be spared," said BJP leader Locket Chatterjee.

The latest episode has added another layer of tension to Bengal's turbulent political landscape, where agency investigations, legal battles and political confrontation have increasingly overlapped since the 2026 Assembly elections.

While the TMC has projected the search as further evidence of what it calls selective targeting of opposition leaders, investigators maintain that the operation was part of an ongoing criminal probe. Politically, however, images of police and central forces entering the residence of Mamata Banerjee's political heir apparent before dawn ensured that the raid resonated far beyond the boundaries of the case itself.

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