Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee was questioned for nearly five-and-a-half hours by the CID on Thursday in connection with the alleged Assembly signature-forgery case.

Shortly after leaving Bhawani Bhavan around 11:30 pm, he headed straight to Mamata Banerjee’s residence in Kalighat. Investigators have directed him to appear again on Sunday, June 14.

Abhishek entered Bhawani Bhavan at around 5:50 pm and left nearly six hours later. He did not make any statement to the media while entering or exiting the state police headquarters.

Earlier in the day, Abhishek returned to Kolkata from Delhi, landing at the airport around 4:20 pm. He first visited Mamata Banerjee’s residence before heading to Bhawani Bhavan to comply with a Calcutta High Court directive.

The High Court had ordered Abhishek to appear before investigators by 6 pm and cooperate with the probe into the alleged signature irregularities linked to a letter submitted to the Assembly Speaker.

At the same time, the court granted him interim protection from any coercive action. The matter will be heard again after two weeks.

The Crime Investigation Department (CID) had previously issued multiple summonses to Abhishek, but he had not appeared.

On one occasion, he cited health concerns and sought additional time; on another, he was away on political engagements. Fearing possible arrest, he subsequently approached the High Court seeking legal protection.

Security was significantly tightened around Bhawani Bhavan ahead of his appearance. Additional police personnel, central forces and RAF units were deployed to prevent any untoward incidents.

The controversy centres on a letter submitted by the TMC legislative party to the Assembly Speaker regarding the appointment of Shovandeb Chattopadhyay as Leader of the Opposition.

Allegations later surfaced that several signatures on the document were inconsistent, with some legislators reportedly claiming they had not signed the letter.

As TMC’s national general secretary, Abhishek’s signature appeared on the disputed document, making him a key figure in the investigation.

The CID has already collected handwriting samples from several TMC MLAs as part of the probe.

The day also saw fresh political drama as senior TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee withdrew from representing Abhishek in court. It reiterated his criticism of the party leader, deepening speculation about internal tensions within the ruling party.