Kolkata, July 8 -- A man posing as an Enforcement Directorate (ED) officer was arrested by police for allegedly threatening and attempting to extort money from former TMC councillor Monalisa Banerjee by claiming he could implicate her in a fabricated money laundering case.
The accused, identified as Yudhajit Ghosh, was arrested by personnel of Rabindra Sarobar Police Station from a cafe on Motilal Nehru Road near Deshapriya Park, they said. According to sources, at around 6.55 pm on Tuesday, the duty officer of Rabindra Sarobar Police Station received a call seeking police assistance from Monalisa Banerjee, former councillor of KMC Ward No. 49. Banerjee alleged that an elderly man was threatening and wrongfully restraining her at the cafe.
A police team immediately rushed to the spot and apprehended Ghosh, a resident of Kailash Ghosh Road in Haridevpur, who is currently living in rented accommodation at Government Colony in Regent Park.
According to the preliminary investigation, Ghosh allegedly introduced himself as a senior ED officer and falsely claimed that Banerjee's name had surfaced in a money laundering case.
Police said he allegedly demanded a large sum of money, assuring her that her name would be removed from the purported case if she paid. He also allegedly threatened that she would be arrested if she refused.
"A prompt response team reached the location immediately after receiving the distress call. The accused has been arrested, and a case has been registered. We are investigating whether he has targeted others using a similar modus operandi," a senior police officer said.
Police said investigators are trying to ascertain the full extent of the alleged fraud and whether Ghosh was part of a larger network involved in similar offences. Banerjee, a TMC leader, alleged that she had been targeted as part of a criminal conspiracy to extort money and tarnish her reputation.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.