CM Janatar Darbar relief for 81-yr-old denied Bhowanipore flat by promoter

Kolkata: An 81-year-old Bhowanipore resident reached chief minister Suvendu Adhikari's Janatar Darbar on Monday, seeking "justice". The elderly man was allegedly cheated of his property by promoter Joy Kamdar, now in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate, and threatened at gunpoint. The CM assured Prabir Mukherjee of state govt's intervention.Adhikari met 105 people on the second day of Janatar Darbar on Monday. Mukherjee, along with his daughter, arrived at the BJP's Salt Lake office early in the morning and waited outside. "I have a house on Townshend Road. We gave the land to the promoter, Joy Kamdar, a few years ago to develop a property there. Kamdar was to hand over a flat to us. I never knew that he would turn out to be a devil," the elderly man said. Mukherjee and his siblings were promised flats after the property was developed. "The developers never handed over the property to us. Instead, they demanded Rs 17 lakh to give us possession of the property," he said. Mukherjee is now forced to live in a rented accommodation. Alleging Kamdar even threatened him at gunpoint, Mukherjee said arrested goon Sona Pappu and arrested DCP Santanu Sinha Biswas were also present during the entire episode. "I want what they promised me. That is why I have come to meet the CM," Mukherjee said while waiting for his turn to meet Adhikari.As he walked into his office, Adhikari spotted the elderly man waiting outside and asked party workers to bring him into the room. "The CM listened to me patiently and said that I would get justice," Mukherjee said later.Seeking redress to their grievances, hundreds from across the state had gathered near the BJP's Salt Lake office since Sunday night, hoping to meet Adhikari at the Janatar Darbar. Samaresh Maji, who had appeared for a fire department exam in 2018 for a fire operator's post, arrived on Sunday night. "We are four candidates who took the exam. We were disqualified as the department changed some norms, and we were rejected on the grounds of a document mismatch," he said. Ashoknagar residents Ambika Bala and Sneha Roy sought justice, too. They said they completed their nursing training a couple of years ago but were yet to get a job. Project assistants of Swami Vivekananda Karmasansthan Prakalpa also met Adhikari. "We have been working since 2001. The project has virtually stalled since 2020. We are receiving neither a commission nor a salary," claimed Jayanta Kar Mandal, who came from Bhangar. More than 500 people, who could not meet Adhikari, submitted their applications to volunteers.