Kolkata, September 4 (Daily Kiran) : The Kolkata Fire Department has directed the immediate evacuation of the office of Abhishek Banerjee, the general secretary of the Trinamool Congress and Lok Sabha MP, located on Camac Street. This decision comes after the department identified significant deficiencies in fire safety measures at the premises.
An official from the fire department stated that the office was not compliant with fire safety regulations, posing a potential threat to public safety. Consequently, the department has ordered the evacuation of the seventh and eighth floors of the building and has sent a notice to the building’s owner regarding this matter.
On September 2, the fire department had already issued a notice to Banerjee’s office, highlighting serious irregularities in fire safety protocols. The notice detailed six specific shortcomings related to fire safety systems and requested a written response within 48 hours.
Sources indicate that the office’s fire safety certificate expired on August 10. Additionally, various other deficiencies in fire safety measures were noted on the seventh and eighth floors where Banerjee’s office is situated. The notice also questioned why the office should not be sealed due to inadequate fire safety provisions.
Following the expiration of the response deadline, the fire department has now moved to enforce the evacuation order. This office has been under scrutiny since a dispute on August 27, when clashes erupted during the removal of allegedly illegal billboards from the building’s roof.
On that day, employees of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, accompanied by police, attempted to remove the billboards, which led to protests from Trinamool Congress workers, including Banerjee and party leader Derek O’Brien. The confrontation resulted in scuffles between the police and party activists.
Three FIRs have been filed at the Shakespeare Sarani police station, accusing Trinamool Congress workers of assaulting on-duty police officers and attempting to disrespect a female officer. Notably, two of these FIRs name Abhishek Banerjee, Derek O’Brien, and other party leaders, including Humayun Kabir and Vaishwanar Chatterjee.
So far, 14 individuals have been arrested in connection with the incident. Kolkata police have already questioned Banerjee, O’Brien, and Banerjee’s personal assistant, Sumit Roy, regarding the events that transpired.
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