Seven Cooch Behar Municipality employees held over corruption charges

According to the police, the accused had allegedly misappropriated funds which were supposed to be utilised for constructing roads near Bhawanigang Bazar under the jurisdiction of the municipality.

Police said that the prime accused are the former chairperson of the municipality and her son, who is also a councillor of the municipality. They are yet to arrest the accused duo in this connection.

Tension spread outside the municipality after some of the municipality workers staged a protest demonstration against the arrest of the employees. As a result of the incident, the normal activities of the municipality were affected.

As the situation turned hostile, the municipality authorities decided to close down the municipality. The demonstration was later lifted by the workers, following the intervention of senior police officers in the district.

Some of the workers of the municipality, however, alleged that the accused had been framed and also demanded the release of the accused.

It has been learnt that one Samrat Kundu, a resident of Cooch Behar, had lodged a complaint in the local police station last year, accusing the former Chairperson of the municipality and her son of misappropriating public funds. The complainant had alleged that crores of rupees were siphoned off by the accused.

Following the complaint, police initiated a detailed probe in this regard. It was alleged that the funds were cleared for constructing roads. On the basis of some evidence, the police have arrested the accused, including two engineers, for their alleged involvement in the misappropriation of funds.

Police are investigating to ascertain whether other persons have been involved in the incident. They are also interrogating some of the senior officials of the municipality in this regard. According to the investigation, police suspect that some other persons might have been involved in the incident.