Mason to crorepati: The rise & rise of Baduria’s arrested civic chief

Kolkata: The rags-to-riches story of Baduria Municipality chairman Dipankar Bhattacharya — who was arrested on Tuesday after unaccounted cash and tarpaulin sheets allegedly meant for disaster relief were recovered from his premises — is stranger than fiction. From being a humble mason stacking bricks to make ends meet, to driving other people's cars and operating an autorickshaw, Bhattacharya's fortunes changed after he stepped into politics. Now, after the recovery of over Rs 3 crore cash from a jute field adjacent to his farmhouse, his meteoric rise has come as a shock to all.The crackdown began on Tuesday when police recovered Rs 80 lakh in cash and nearly 4,000 government relief tarpaulins from Bhattacharya's farmhouse. But the real shock came a day later. Acting on fresh leads, police on Wednesday dug up a jute field beside his farmhouse in Batuldanga, unearthing several sacks and trolley bags stuffed with cash. Following an overnight counting operation involving bank and government officials, police announced that an additional Rs 2,24,07,500 was recovered from the underground hideouts.Residents watched in disbelief as officers pulled bags of currency notes from the muddy field. Sources said Bhattacharya, a resident of Ward No. 12 in Batuldanga, first entered politics in 2010 on a Congress ticket and became the chairman of the Baduria Municipality. "In 2013, he joined the Trinamool Congress. He remained chairman until 2015 and regained the post in 2018 following the death of then-chairman Tushar Singh," a local councillor said.Locals, however, allege that his political ascent was fuelled by fear, intimidation and massive corruption. Residents claim Bhattacharya built an empire through irregularities in housing schemes, job rackets, illegal promotion, land deals, and extortion. "Huge sums of money were collected under the pretext of providing houses through government housing schemes. Several local residents paid him anywhere from Rs 10,000 to Rs 60,000. Only a few actually received houses, while many got nothing but false promises," said Shantanu Dey, a local contractor.A local woman, Champa Mondal, alleged that Bhattacharya took her Aadhaar card details, opened a fraudulent bank account in her name and siphoned off funds using a fake chequebook.According to residents, repeated complaints to the administration during the Trinamool regime yielded no results. "Instead, complainants faced police harassment and even death threats issued by Bhattacharya and his henchmen," a local trader said.Now in police custody, Bhattacharya is being interrogated to trace the source of the enormous cash haul and to determine whether more assets remain concealed elsewhere. During the course of the investigation, police on Thursday arrested two of his close associates: accountant Shamim Gazi and Rafikul Gazi.According to police sources, Shamim Gazi allegedly worked as an accountant for the arrested chairman and maintained records of his illegal transactions. Rafikul Gazi, on the other hand, managed Bhattacharya's extortion network and other illicit operations. Police stated that both men played active roles in hiding the cash and the thousands of government tarpaulins seized during the raids. "We are investigating the actual source of the recovered money and are examining all possible angles. The accused are currently being interrogated in connection with the case," Alaknanda Bhowal, SP, Basirhat, told TOI.