West Bengal Trinamool Congress hit by CID raids, signature‑forgery probe and arrests

West Bengal’s Criminal Investigation Department has stepped up a probe into alleged forged signatures of Trinamool Congress (TMC) legislators tied to the appointment of the party’s Leader of Opposition. The department formed a five‑member Special Investigation Team and has issued three notices to TMC General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, who has so far ignored them while attending meetings in New Delhi. Simultaneous raids were carried out at TMC’s central office in Kalighat, the party’s office on Camac Street, and at former chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s residence‑cum‑party office in Kolkata.

In a related development, the West Bengal Special Task Force arrested former TMC strongman Jahangir Khan, known as “Pushpa”, near the India‑Nepal border after a court denied him anticipatory bail. Khan is accused of election‑related offences, including alleged tampering with electronic voting machines. The series of investigations and arrests have intensified internal party tensions and drawn criticism from opposition parties.