KOLKATA — Trinamool Congress on Monday moved the Calcutta High Court after the police decided to freeze three of its bank accounts. The party sought the court’s intervention to determine under whose permission and for what reason the accounts were frozen.
The party also filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Calcutta High Court, seeking intervention to stop the throwing of eggs on party leaders and workers.
Trinamool lawyers sought permission to file a case before the bench of Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya. The court accepted the application, and the formal hearing may begin later this week. The three Trinamool accounts are said to hold a total of Rs 440 crore.
A few days ago, party treasurer Aroop Biswas had written to a private bank requesting that three Trinamool accounts be frozen due to a dispute over control of party funds following an internal conflict.
After the electoral debacle in the state Assembly elections, Trinamool announced an organisational reshuffle on June 5, naming former MP Subhasish Chakraborty as the new treasurer, replacing Aroop Biswas.
However, in a recent letter to the bank, Aroop claimed he was still the party’s treasurer. The Trinamool Congress has multiple accounts in the Central Plaza branch of a private bank in Kolkata. According to his official letter, transactions on those accounts were temporarily suspended, triggering uproar within the party. The leadership then issued a show-cause notice to the former minister.
In his three-page reply, Aroop Biswas raised several questions about the party’s internal transactions, claiming that while he handled bookkeeping, all financial dealings were conducted without his knowledge.
Leader of the rebel Trinamool MLAs and Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly, Ritabrata Banerjee, supported the letter, saying, “Who knows whether there is money from the cut money (illegal commission) in that account or not. I agree with Aroop Biswas. There should be an investigation.”
On June 19, around 10 rebel Trinamool MLAs requested that the Bidhannagar South Police Station freeze the bank accounts immediately.
Following this, an investigation was launched, and three accounts were frozen. The Trinamool Congress, led by Mamata Banerjee, approached the High Court on Monday in this regard.
The PIL seeking intervention against egg throwing
The PIL has been filed before the division bench of the Acting Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, Tapabrata Chakraborty. Lawyer Prabhanya Banerjee filed the case and requested an urgent hearing. The matter is likely to be heard on Tuesday.
The party alleged that there had been a planned attack on two MLAs, Kunal Ghosh and Madan Mitra, and three MPs, Abhishek Banerjee, Kalyan Banerjee and Derek O’Brien. It further claimed that party workers are being attacked and party offices are being demolished across the state.
After the state Assembly elections, Trinamool General Secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee was attacked while visiting Sonarpur in South 24 Parganas district. Trinamool MP Kalyan Banerjee from Sreerampur was attacked in the Chanditala area of Hooghly district.
A few days ago, Trinamool MLA Kunal Ghosh from Beleghata was attacked by egg-throwers outside Mamata Banerjee’s house in Kalighat, south Kolkata. Similarly, Madan Mitra was attacked in his Assembly constituency, Kamarhati, in the North 24 Parganas district, where his car was vandalised. These incidents have been mentioned in the PIL.
The party also opposed the way police are making Trinamool leaders walk on the streets with ropes tied around their waists and in innerwear after arresting them.
Trinamool leaders are being arrested across the state on various charges since the change of government.
Following arrests, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, activists and some locals have thrown eggs at the accused while they were being taken to police stations or courts.
To control the situation, police have put helmets on the heads of arrested Trinamool leaders. Trinamool has now approached the High Court against these incidents. — With inputs from IANS
