Fresh extortion FIR against Sushanta, 4 of his aides

Kolkata: The Anandapur police cops lodged yet another FIR against Trinamool (TMC) Kasba ex-councillor Sushanta Ghosh and four of his aides for allegedly defrauding a resident of Rs 7.7 lakh by selling a footpath stall using forged KMC documents.

The case was registered after complaint on Tuesday by Binoy Majumder, a resident of Rajdanga School Road in Kasba.

According to police, the complaint names Ghosh, alongside Sujit Kumar alias Bachchan, Pappu Roy, Partha Dey Sarkar, Shyamal Sardar and several unidentified individuals.

The police have initiated a case under sections 420 (cheating), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document) and 386 (extortion) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

According to the FIR, the alleged criminal conspiracy began in Nov 2022. The accused reportedly approached Majumder with “rosy representations” and induced him to purchase a 7-ft shop on the footpath of Anandapur Road, leading towards the Ruby Crossing. To win his confidence, the accused allegedly produced forged KMC authorised vendor licences, portraying them as genuine municipal permits. Relying on them, Majumder handed over Rs 7.7 lakh to the accused.

However, the complainant alleged that after pocketing the money, the accused backtracked on their promise. Instead of the promised stall, they allegedly placed Majumder under severe fear and intimidation, forcibly handing over unauthorised keys to a completely different, 4-ft room. This smaller space was originally utilised as an ambulance room by the Ruby Market Committee, claimed the FIR.

Furthermore, the accused failed to provide the official KMC vendor licence as promised. Realising he had been duped with unauthorised property keys and fabricated paperwork, the victim finally approached the police.

Senior officials at the Anandapur PS confirmed that the investigation has been officially taken up even as teams are fanning across at least three states in search of Ghosh. “We will show Sujit — whom we arrested on Wednesday — as arrested in this case. His questioning will be crucial to try to gather evidence against Ghosh,” said a police source.