Abhishek Banerjee’s house, office security deployment removed

Additional police deployment and area security arrangements outside senior TMC leader and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee’s Harish Mukherjee Road residence and Camac Street office in Kolkata have been withdrawn following a review, though his existing security categorisation remains unchanged.

He continues to receive Z plus-category police protection. Officials said the withdrawal of the area management deployment took effect early Wednesday morning following fresh instructions.

Initially, in the morning, a scissor barricade was seen covering the footpath in front of his Harish Mukherjee Road residence, with no police personnel present.

Later, police vans arrived and packed up chairs, scissor barricades and even a baggage scanner from inside the gates of his residence. The police kiosk and shed built outside the residence have not yet been dismantled, but are expected to be removed soon, an official said.

Sources said the earlier protocol included route sanitisation and advance movement checks by police personnel before the TMC national general secretary travelled to any destination.

However, under the revised arrangement, no police vehicle will conduct advance route checks or ensure traffic clearance ahead of Banerjee’s movement, officials indicated.

Local residents expressed relief, saying they had faced years of restrictions on movement.