West Bengal authorities on Saturday began demolishing an allegedly "illegal" Trinamool Congress (TMC) party office in South 24 Parganas linked to the party's national general secretary and Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee.
The demolition of the five-storey building at Amtala was underway using bulldozers when this report was filed. According to officials, the structure was allegedly constructed without the required building sanction plan.
The demolition is being carried out under the supervision of local Block Development Officer (BDO) and Block Land & Land Reforms (BLLRO) officials. A joint team of the West Bengal Police and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) has been deployed to provide security, while personnel from the state fire services department are also present at the site.
Authorities have barricaded the entire area as demolition work continues.
'No Response To Notice Led To Demolition': Officials
According to district officials, a notice dated June 30 had declared the building unauthorised and directed TMC office-bearers to appear for a hearing on July 15. A reminder notice was pasted on the building on July 7, IANS reported.
"However, there was no response to the notice. Thereafter, the district administration decided to proceed with action, and the demolition began on Saturday afternoon," a district administration official said.
BJP Alleges TMC Building Is Illegal
As the demolition got underway, BJP workers gathered at the site, raising slogans in support of the action. They alleged that the office had been used by notorious criminals from South 24 Parganas associated with the previous ruling dispensation.
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BJP MLA from Satgachia, Agniswar Naskar, also reached the spot and alleged that the building had not only been constructed without approval but that the land had also been forcibly occupied by TMC-backed individuals.
The Trinamool Congress had not issued any official response to the development at the time of filing this report.