Cops continue dressed-down parade of TMC men

Kolkata: Former Trinamool strongman Abhijit Roy, alias Bonny, of the Bijpur assembly constituency in North 24 Parganas, who was earlier arrested in connection with extortion and Arms Act cases, was paraded through several areas of Kanchrapara-Bijpur on Thursday afternoon wearing a sleeveless vest and Bermuda shorts, with a rope tied around his waist. Locals shouted “chor-chor” (thief-thief) slogans at him during the police parade.

According to local sources, Bonny, a Trinamool Congress youth functionary once accused of wielding immense influence over railway police quarters — deciding who could stay and who could not — has now found himself in police custody.

According to police sources, Bonny was taken around ward of Bijpur Municipality on Thursday as part of the probe. Before that, he was taken through parts of Kanchrapara. Earlier on Monday, police had taken him to the railway police quarters and the Nabin Pally area.

During the parade, claiming innocence, Bonny said, “Those who committed the theft have fled. I did not steal anything. That is why I am still here.”

Sources said, during the 2024 LS polls, political tensions escalated in the Barrackpore constituency. “At that time, a video showing a heated altercation between BJP candidate Arjun Singh and Bonny went viral on social media,” a local trader said.

Local political observers claim that from then on, his political influence and visibility in the area grew rapidly.

Sources alleged that Bonny subsequently rose quickly within the Trinamool ranks. However, local sources also claimed that differences later emerged between Bonny and the close aides of Kanchrapara Municipality chairman Kamal Adhikari.

The Falta police late on Wednesday night arrested Israfill Chokdar, a prominent local South 24 Parganas Trinamool functionary and head of the Banga Nagar 2 GP, from the Hasimnagar area near Shirakol. Chokdar, known to be a close associate of TMC Falta candidate Jahangir Khan, faces a string of serious criminal charges including extortion, intimidation, and physical assault.

According to senior cops, Chokdar had been evading police notices. He was produced before the Diamond Harbour ACJM court on Thursday morning. Investigators have sought his police remand to probe his involvement in poll-related violence and extortion rackets.