Anindya Chatterjee gets bail in absence of charge-sheet

Anindya Chatterjee, the tainted councillor of Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) who was arrested on the charge of extortion, got bail from the additional chief judicial magistrate court on Monday.

Chatterjee was arrested on July 12 following a complaint lodged by a businessman. The businessman had filed a complaint against him initially at Bidhanagar (North) police station and later with the chief minister’s officer at Nabanna. Chatterjee was arrested on charges of demanding extortion and threatening.

Previously, his bail plea was rejected several times by the court, citing the reason that he is an influential person and can hamper the investigation. But on Monday, the court gave him bail as the investigating agency – Bidhannagar City Police could not submit the charge-sheet against him within two months of his arrest.

The court has given him bail on the bond of Rs 5,000. However, when questioned, most of the top brass of the Bidhannagar City Police denied any explanation for the accused getting bail.

Chatterjee was sent to judicial custody for long. Chatterjee’s lawyer had pledged his bail before the judge. The charges which were framed against the councilor were 38, 384, 386, 387, 388, and 389 of the Indian Penal Code.

Three of his close aids including Sidhu Kundu and Md Nasim — dreaded extortionists were also arrested.

Businessman Santosh Lodh (78), resident of Salt Lake’s AE Block, also has a house in BD Block. Lodh wished to repair the house but Chatterjee and his men prevented him to do so. Lodh informed the matter to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed, who personally knows him. The Bangladesh Prime Minister reportedly told the matter to chief minister Mamata Banerjee and thereafter, the police took almost no time to arrest the accused councilor.

Chatterjee had allegedly demanded Rs 12 lakh from Lodh. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has instructed the police to take stringent steps against the extortionists across the state.

The Bidhannagar City Police, earlier, had arrested several extortionists in a row to prevent the illegal activities of syndicate in Rajarhar and Salt Lake area. “We seriously need to see, why he got the bail,” said Gyanwant Singh, commissioner of Bidhannagar City Police.