Kolkata: A five-storey building in Amtala, South 24 Parganas, which serves as the local party office of Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, was partially demolished with bulldozers by the district administration on Saturday following an unauthorised construction complaint.Banerjee denied the allegations, saying he had emailed a petition to Calcutta High Court containing “documentary proof” of the illegal demolition, and vowed to fight the case all the way to the Supreme Court.“Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. If I remain alive and justice prevails, the very same provisions of law that are being misused against us today will one day be applied on those responsible for these actions,” the MP said.The building, located on the Amtala-Baruipur road, about 250 meters from the Amtala crossing, was cordoned off in the morning before the arrival of earthmovers. Barricades were erected around the premises, power lines were disconnected and firefighters stood by as the demolition began around 12.35 pm. Three bulldozers carried out the operation under the security of central forces and a large police contingent.Officials first tore down a blue corrugated shed at the front before breaking through the lower section to gain access inside. The demolition team then focused on the cornices and the front façade of the main structure.Officials said multiple laptops and desktop computers were seized following due legal procedures. “Several rooms were secured with digital locks, and 16 water tanks were found on the premises,” an officer said.District authorities had pasted three notices at the site dated June 20, June 30 and July 7. The notices named Amit Bandyopadhyay (Abhishek’s father), Mati Mallick and Sushanta Mondal. The senior Bandyopadhyay was identified in the notice as a director of Leaps and Bounds Pvt Ltd. The summons directed the recipients to appear with supporting documents regarding a complaint filed by Mondal. Officials alleged that no representative attended the hearings.Banerjee disputed this claim. “On July 15, we were officially called for a hearing, and our representatives attended. We asked the administration to provide a copy of the complaint. However, they failed to produce it. Just two days later, almost the entire ground and first floors of the party office were bulldozed,” he said.State urban development and municipal affairs minister Agnimitra Paul hit back, saying: “No individual, organisation or public figure should be above the law. At the same time, every action must be carried out in accordance with legal procedures, ensuring fairness and accountability.”Former BJP candidate from Diamond Harbour, Abhijit ‘Bobby’ Das, who was present at the site, alleged that the building was constructed illegally around 2017 on land where a bakery once stood before being gutted in a fire. He claimed the structure lacked sanctioned plans and was used for unlawful activities.Another district BJP functionary echoed the allegation, claiming the bakery had employed around 25 to 30 workers before it caught fire under mysterious circumstances shortly after Banerjee was first elected to Parliament in 2014.Banerjee said: “Along with officials from the district administration, the BDO, police and BLRO personnel, BJP workers carrying saffron flags, wearing saffron headbands and covering their faces unleashed vandalism at the site. Furniture, wash basins and other properties were destroyed.” “The office was built on privately owned land, and we have all the approved plans and legal documents,” he added.
