Cops raid resort in Alipurduar to trace Bidhannagar civic body councillor

Kolkata/Alipurduar: Just a day after serving a notice to the councillor of Ward number 9 of Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC), Samaresh Chakraborty, Bidhannagar City Police went to a resort at Chilapata Forest in Alipurduar on Wednesday to trace him.

Chakraborty, who is one of the FIR-named persons in an extortion case, is missing for the past couple of days and has not complied with the direction of the police to appear before the investigating officer. While trying to trace Chakraborty, cops came to know that he owns a resort in Chilapata Forest. Accordingly, a three-member police team from Baguiati Police Station reached the luxurious resort in the Chilapata forest area where the cops searched all the rooms but the councillor was not found. Cops are trying to find out the possible places where Chakraborty

can take shelter. Meanwhile, a promoter identified as Kishor Haldar who was allegedly assaulted for refusing to pay the remaining amount of the extortion money by the ‘followers’ of Chakraborty said that he has e-mailed his complaint along with necessary documents to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjeeseeking her intervention.

While the police are probing the alleged extortion case that was registered against Chakraborty, a new allegation of land grabbing cropped up against him and his company. It is alleged that Chakraborty’s company altered the land’s classification and purchased it, which actually was classified as tribal land.Tapan Chikbaraik, a local resident of Chilapata area, claimed that the 4.5 bighas of land on which Chakraborty’s resort stands originally belonged to his family and was classified as tribal land. According to Tapan, in 2011, Raj Basu, spokesperson for Chakraborty’s company fraudulently altered the land’s classification and purchased it for Rs 15,000 per bigha. “I have a Scheduled Tribe certificate issued in 1991, but my surname was tampered with to classify me as belonging to the general category. Despite my repeated attempts to reclaim the land, I have faced resistance,” Tapan said.

He also claimed that his efforts to lodge a formal complaint with the Alipurduar Police Station were dismissed. “The entire land transfer process was orchestrated by Raj Basu. Now, my sister Kanika Chikbaraik and I are being threatened by unknown callers for bringing this scam to light,” Tapan added.

However, Basu has denied the allegations and said: “These claims are baseless. Our organisation conducted proper due diligence before purchasing the property. Tapan Chikbaraik is not a tribal; he belongs to the general caste. Raising such allegations after so many years is pointless.”