Kolkata, June 29 -- TMC councillor of KMC Ward No. 134, Shams Iqbal Anil, was granted bail by a city court on Monday, hours after being arrested in connection with a 2023 extortion case after the complainant withdrew the allegations.
Shams was arrested by Garden Reach Police on charges of extortion and under the Arms Act, and was produced before the Alipore court later in the day. Police said complainant Md Shadab had alleged that Shams threatened to kill him and his family before extorting Rs 70 lakh. However, the case took a turn when Shadab filed an affidavit before the court stating he no longer wished to pursue the matter.
"The matter has now been settled amicably, and my client does not wish to continue with the complaint," his lawyer told the court. The court accepted the submission and granted bail to Shams in the afternoon.
In another development, the councillor of Panihati Municipality Ward No. 13, Jayanta Das alias Gobinda, was arrested on Sunday night for alleged extortion, threatening and assaulting BJP workers.
Jayanta was reportedly close to the former Panihati TMC MLA, Nirmal Ghosh. Sources informed that multiple cases are registered against the councillors at the Khardah Police Station. Meanwhile, the councillor of Dum Dum Municipality ward No. 4, Tapas Roy and his three associates were arrested after a huge number of voter cards were found at his ward office on Monday.
In Hooghly district, a TMC leader close to the former Jangipara MLA and the former Transport minister Snehasish Chakraborty was arrested on Sunday night. The arrested TMC leader, Swapan Patra, who was the Pradhan of Rashidpur Panchayat, had allegedly arranged a loan worth over Rs 1 crore illegally for Snehasish and his family members. On the other hand, a TMC leader close to former minister Manas Bhunia was arrested for alleged corruption and other allegations. The accused, Manik Maity, is the former TMC president of the Balpai area in Sabang.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.