TMC Councillor Arrested On Charges Of Extortion

Kolkata: On Tuesday, a councillor of West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress in North 24 Parganas district was arrested and remanded to custody on charges of extortion, police said.

Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation member Anindya Chatterjee was arrested from Kolkata’s satellite township Bidhannagar after a complaint was filed saying that he demanded Rs 12 lakh as extortion money from an area resident, said Deputy Commissioner of Police Santosh Pandey.

Chatterjee was booked under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 387 (putting person in fear of death or of grievous hurt in order to commit extortion). He was produced before a court which rejected his bail plea and remanded him to judicial custody for 14 days.

The arrest comes days after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her displeasure over the law and order situation in the district and asked police to curb illegal syndicate business.

Party leaders confirmed that the order to take “drastic action” against Chatterjee was given by Banerjee on Friday. “She wanted to take action against him when he was allegedly at the centre of violence against media personnel in his ward during the 2015 Bidhannagar municipal elections. But senior leaders from the area intervened. This time, she told the police brass to take drastic action against him on Tuesday — the day she left Kolkata for Darjeeling,” a leader said on condition of anonymity.

The TMC’s North-24 Parganas unit, however, maintained in a statement that the arrest was meant to send a strong message to party leaders across the state. “Banerjee has time and again cautioned a section of party leaders against their involvement in extortion and the syndicate business. Anindya didn’t mend his ways. Stern action will be taken against him to send out a strong message,” said a party leader.