7 Cops Hurt In ‘Sudden Ambush’ In Lake Town

Lake Town: Seven policemen were “ambushed” in Lake Town in Dum Dum following an alleged  clash between two syndicates, reportedly backed by factions within the ruling Trinamool Congresss (TMC).

It was not until Tuesday evening that a police case was “officially registered” in the matter. TMC, however, has denied the allegations. The syndicate is an euphemism for an extortion racket in areas witnessing a realty boom, wherein cartels — comprising unemployed youths and mostly backed by the ruling party — use clout and the threat of violence to force contractors into buying inferior building materials from them at a premium.

The two syndicates in question are allegedly backed by TMC MLA from Dum Dum, Sujeet Bose, and party MLA from Rajarhat in Bidhannagar, Sabyasachi Dutta. Recently, Dutta was purportedly seen on a sting talking about his association with the Rajarhat syndicate. In his rallies during the elections, he had spoken about how “syndicates give jobs to the poor”. Despite repeated attempts, Bose and Dutta could not be contacted for comments.

Police, meanwhile, claimed that on Monday night, they had gone to “resolve a small argument” at a wedding in Lake Town when they “were ambushed by an angry mob”.

Lake Town Officer-in-Charge Triguna Roy, who was injured in the violence, said: “We were called in to resolve a small argument that had broken out at a wedding. After resolving the matter, we were leaving and were suddenly attacked. We were pinned down and had to call in reinforcements. Our vehicles were damaged and our men injured.”