Kolkata, June 7 (IANS) Two Trinamool Congress leaders, a sitting councillor in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and a former MLA, have been arrested on various charges, including extortion and corruption, the police said on Sunday.

The sitting Trinamool councillor who was arrested on Saturday is Bappaditya Dasgupta, the councillor from ward number 101 of the KMC. Officers from Patuli police station arrested him on charges of extortion. After taking Bappaditya to the police station, an angry crowd gathered there who chanted ‘chor-chor’ (thief) slogans at him.

Dasgupta was initially a BJP member. In 2010, he joined Trinamool Congress with the help of former state Minister Partha Chatterjee. In 2015, he won the by-election and became a councillor from ward number 110. After winning the municipal elections for the second time in 2021, Dasgupta became the Chief Whip of Trinamool councillors at KMC.

It is alleged that people close to Dasgupta vandalised the houses of several BJP members after the 2021 state Assembly elections.

The BJP leaders claimed that apart from Dasgupta, several other Trinamool leaders were also involved in post-poll violence. Besides this, Dasgupta faces allegations of taking bribes from local residents to build houses in the area.

In another case, the party’s former MLA from Medinipur Assembly constituency, in West Midnapore district, Sujoy Hazra, was arrested by the police from a railway station in the same district on Saturday night while he was trying to escape. He had been absconding since May 4, when the results of the West Bengal Assembly elections were announced.

District Superintendent of Police, Papiya Sultana said, “The police were monitoring the movements of Sujoy Hazra. This Trinamool leader has been hiding for a long time. There are multiple allegations against him, including land grabbing and extortion. Based on those allegations, the accused was called to Salbani police station for investigation. He was arrested from Kharagpur railway station. The investigation is ongoing. Nothing more can be said now.”

–IANS

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