Kolkata, May 31 (IANS) Police conducted a search operation at Trinamool Congress MLA Madan Mitra’s house in the Kamarhati area of North 24 Parganas district on Sunday.

Barrackpore Police Commissionerate Deputy Commissioner (South) Dyutiman Bhattacharya led the search operation.

When the police reached Madan Mitra’s house on Sunday afternoon, it was locked and the MLA was not present. However, the police broke open the lock and entered the premises. After conducting a search for around an hour, they locked the house again and left.

It is learnt that the house is named ‘Uday Villa’.

Trinamool Congress MLA from the Kamarhati Assembly constituency, Madan Mitra, also has a party office there. Allegedly, the land on which the house stands belongs to a central agency. The police are investigating how the structure was built on land allegedly owned by a central agency.

According to the police, a large contingent entered the ‘Uday Villa’ premises at around 1 p.m.

According to local sources, Madan Mitra occasionally stays at the house.

However, it is still unclear whether he is the owner of the property. The police said some documents were seized following the hour-long search operation.

According to sources close to Madan Mitra, he is currently at his residence in south Kolkata. The Trinamool Congress is scheduled to hold a meeting at Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee’s Kalighat residence on Sunday evening.

Political circles are keeping a close watch on how many of the 80 Trinamool Congress MLAs who won the Assembly elections will attend the meeting. Sources claimed that Madan Mitra is in Kolkata to attend the gathering.

Since the change of government in the state, police and civic body officials have begun a crackdown on illegal constructions in and around the city that had mushroomed during the Trinamool Congress government’s tenure.

Most of these illegal constructions were allegedly built with the support of Trinamool Congress leaders and promoters or real estate developers under the patronage of influential party leaders.

In several areas, bulldozer drives have been carried out to demolish such illegal constructions.

–IANS

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