Raiganj, June 29 -- Fresh controversy erupted in North Dinajpur district after two youths from Raiganj lodged an FIR against former state minister and Trinamool Congress MLA from Goalpokhar, Ghulam Rabbani, alleging that he collected Rs. 14 lakh from them on the promise of providing government-related construction work but neither arranged the work nor returned the money.
According to the complaint filed at Raiganj Police Station on Sunday, Saumik Dutta alleged that Rabbani had taken Rs. 8 lakh from him in November 2024 with an assurance of providing construction work under the North Bengal Development Department. However, despite repeated requests, no work was allotted and the money was not refunded. "Whenever I demanded my money back, I was allegedly threatened with arrest," Dutta claimed.
Another complainant, Pritam Kundu, alleged that the former minister had received Rs. 6 lakh from him in 2023, promising to arrange a tender for the installation of high-mast lights through the MLA Local Area Development Fund. He claimed that neither the promised work was provided nor was the money returned. Repeated attempts to contact Ghulam Rabbani for his response were unsuccessful. Reacting to the development, North Dinajpur BJP president Nimai Kabiraj demanded a fair investigation and appropriate legal action against the former minister if the allegations are found to be true.
A senior officer of Raiganj Police Station confirmed that the FIR has been registered and an investigation is underway.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.