Raiganj, May 17 -- In a significant breakthrough, police arrested Kartik Chandra Das, Krishi Karmadakshya of North Dinajpur Zilla Parishad and president of the Itahar block Trinamool Congress committee, from his residence at Churaman village under Itahar Police Station on Saturday night.
The arrest was made following allegations of collecting "cut money" from local residents in exchange for providing government-related services. He was produced before the court on Sunday.
According to police sources, several allegations had surfaced against Kartik Chandra Das regarding the collection of money from beneficiaries for various Zilla Parishad schemes and services.
Recently, Kurban Ali, a resident of Lalganj, lodged a formal complaint accusing Das of taking Rs 1 lakh from him months ago with the promise of arranging a solar irrigation system. However, despite taking the money, the promised facility was allegedly never provided. Acting on the complaint, police initiated an investigation and later arrested the TMC leader.
Reacting to the incident, Kartik Chandra Das claimed that he was unaware of the exact reason behind his arrest and said: "It is a political conspiracy against me. Police did not clearly explain the reason for my arrest"
Meanwhile, in another development, police had earlier arrested Rantu Das, president of the North Dinajpur Trinamool Chhatra Parishad committee, in connection with an alleged fake lottery racket. He was later granted bail on Saturday with certain conditions imposed by the court.
Abhisekh Talukdar, IC of Itahar Police Station, said: "Kartik Chandra Das was arrested on the basis of a complaint and produced before the court seeking police remand. An investigation has been initiated."
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.