Political furore in Kolkata after wife of WB CM Mamata Banerjee's nephew is held with 2kg gold and Police faces off with customs department at airport

Within weeks of the dramatic CBI versus Kolkata Police face-off in Kolkata over ex-Kolkata CP Rajeev Kumar and allegations against him in the Saradha chit fund scam, another standoff was witnessed in the city's airport on Saturday, according to a report, as as the police squared off against the customs department.

The showdown was over a woman passenger allegedly being caught with 2 kilos of gold. She arrived on a Thai Airways flight from Bangkok, as per reports, and upon being held post-screening, called her husband who turned out to be Abhishek Banerjee, Lok Sabha MP and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew.

Following her phone call, a number of Kolkata police personnel allegedly arrived on the scene in an effort to extricate her, which they were able to do. 

However, consequent to this, the issue has snowballed into a political controversy, with numerous politicians highlighting what had happened and asking if there had been a political angle:

Union MoS Babul Supriyo has assured that an enquiry will be conducted into the incident:

The last few months have seen a dramatic escalation in hostilities between the BJP and the Trinamool Congress, with the West Bengal government allegedly repeatedly blocking permission for rallies by PM Modi, BJP party chief Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath. Following the announcement of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, a BJP delegation had even met with the Election Commission and sought the implementation of 'sensitive' status to the polls in West Bengal, citing past incidents.