Daijiworld Media Network - Kolkata

Kolkata, Nov 9: The Delhi Police on Monday served a notice to former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, asking her to appear for questioning as a witness in connection with a criminal case registered in 2013 at the Parliament Street Police Station in New Delhi.

The case relates to a violent protest staged outside Banga Bhavan in the national capital, during which government officials were allegedly assaulted.

A Delhi Police team, accompanied by personnel from the local Kalighat Police Station, visited Banerjee's official residence at 30B Harish Chatterjee Street in South Kolkata on Monday to deliver the notice. The document, sent in a white envelope, was received on her behalf by Subhasish Chakraborty.

According to sources familiar with the development, the notice asks Banerjee to visit New Delhi at her convenience and meet the investigating officers as a witness under Section 160 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

The case dates back to April 2013, when activists of the Students' Federation of India (SFI), the student wing of the CPI(M), staged a protest outside Banga Bhavan in New Delhi following the death of SFI activist Sudipta Gupta in Kolkata earlier that year.

During the demonstration, the then West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra was allegedly heckled and physically assaulted by protesters. The agitation was led by then SFI General Secretary Ritabrata Banerjee, who currently serves as the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly.

Following the incident, a formal complaint was lodged at the Parliament Street Police Station on April 9, 2013.

Thirteen years after the incident, the Delhi Police has now issued the notice to Mamata Banerjee, citing her presence in the national capital alongside Amit Mitra at the time of the alleged assault.