Overview
- Police at Kalighat registered an FIR on Thursday, July 2, after a Baguiati resident filed a complaint alleging security staff were seen standing on the footrests and sides of a moving vehicle in Abhishek Banerjee’s convoy.
- The case was recorded under Sections 281, 125, 223 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and relevant provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, with the complaint citing Motor Vehicles Act Sections 123 and 184.
- The complainant, named as Rajib (also reported as Rajiv) Sarkar, supplied a social-media photograph and asked police to probe the driver, seize the vehicle for forensic checks and treat any VIP-security exceptions as inapplicable to this conduct.
- Banerjee, the TMC general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP, has not issued a public response to the FIR, which adds to his existing legal scrutiny by agencies such as the ED and the CBI.
- Coverage highlights a wider debate over enforcement: critics note that riding on footboards is visible in some VIP movements and say this case will test whether traffic and security rules are applied evenly across political figures.