Police arrest Trinamool leader in Durgapur over job fraud, intimidation charges
Kolkata: As part of an ongoing crackdown on Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders accused of intimidation and financial irregularities during the previous Mamata Banerjee-led regime in West Bengal, police in the Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate on Friday arrested a trade union leader from Durgapur, officials said.
The arrested leader has been identified as Sheikh Wasul, the president of INTTUC unit in the Durgapur-Faridpur area and a resident of Rangamati under Durgapur-Faridpur Block in West Burdwan district.
A district police officer said that several complaints had been lodged against him over a prolonged period. But no action was initiated against him by the cops because of his links with the former ruling party in West Bengal.
He was accused of collecting money from people on the false promise of providing jobs, intimidating local residents, and creating an atmosphere of fear in the area.
Police sources further claimed that Wasul was also accused of attempting to influence voters ahead of the recently concluded West Bengal assembly elections, leading to tension in the locality. Multiple residents had reportedly approached police with complaints against him before the polls.
Acting on the complaints, Durgapur-Faridpur police conducted an early morning raid on Friday and arrested him from the Laudoha area. He was produced before the Durgapur Sub-Divisional Court on Friday.
Since the Suvendu Adhikari-led state government took charge, there had been a series of arrests and actions by the police against several Trinamool Congress leaders in different pockets of the state. They had been moving around freely despite several complaints lodged against them.
Besides the state police, there had been a major crackdown by the central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED), with several arrests being made by ED officials as well.
The arrests made by ED in the post-election period include the former West Bengal fire services minister, Sujit Bose, and the former deputy commissioner of Kolkata Police, Santanu Sinha Biswas, known as an extremely close confidant of the former Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee.