After police plaint, LIC knocks on KMC door to get Suruchi land back

Kolkata: After filing a police complaint alleging Suruchi Sangha has encroached upon a 23-cottah land in New Alipore, the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has sought assistance from the KMC assessment department to reclaim the plot. The current market value of the land is around Rs 27 crore-Rs 30 crore.According to a KMC source, LIC officials have contacted the civic body’s assessment wing, requesting to initiate steps so that the prime land goes through a mutation process that will help the insurance major get a legal stamp from the civic body and pave the way for a hassle-free reclamation process. “It is just an initial step. Once the LIC authorities submit relevant documents to us for mutation, we will scrutinize them and take necessary steps to go ahead with the mutation process,” said a civic official.Senior LIC officials visited the site on Saturday and sought police intervention to regain the land. The move comes amid mounting troubles for the influential club following the recent arrest of Swarup Biswas and an FIR being filed against his minister brother Aroop.“This land belongs to LIC. We have repeatedly raised the issue and approached various levels of the administration over the years, but no action was taken. Following the recent developments, we have finally been able to access the property and lodge a formal complaint,” said Pankaj Kumar Basu, a senior LIC officer.“We have also noticed that a permanent structure has come up on the land. We will approach KMC to ascertain how construction was permitted on our property without our knowledge,” Basu said.The land dispute is not new. In 2010, TOI reported allegations by LIC officials that Suruchi Sangha had taken possession of the plot in 2008, even before the Trinamool Congress came to power in Bengal. By then, however, Aroop had already emerged as a significant political figure after winning the Tollygunge assembly seat on a Trinamool ticket in 2006. The earlier report highlighted LIC’s objections to the club holding its annual Durga Puja on the property without formal permission.