Sabyasachi Dutta was arrested from his residence on the complaint of a businessman who demanded more $He received Rs 1 crore from him in 2018, a police officer said.
Trinamool Congress leader Sabyasachi Dutta was arrested early Tuesday from West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district on charges of extortion and criminal intimidation, and was remanded in police remand for eight days.
The former Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) mayor was arrested from his residence in Raigachi based on a complaint by a businessman that Dutta had demanded more than $He received Rs 1 crore from him in 2018, a police officer said.
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“Ready to hang if…”
Although Dutta denied the charges and said he was “ready to be hanged if they can prove that I took even a single rupee”, people shouted “thief” at him and threw eggs, tomatoes and cow dung when he was taken to court, as well as when he was leaving.
The Bidhannagar sub-court remanded Dutta in police custody for eight days.
Dutta had unsuccessfully contested the recent Assembly elections from Barasat seat on a TMC ticket. He had joined the BJP in 2019 and returned to the Mamata Banerjee-led party two years later.
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His arrest came after former Bidhannagar MLA and TMC government minister, Sujit Bose, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a civic body job scam case.
Reacting to Dutta’s arrest, State and Bidhannagar Minister Sharadwat Mukherjee said: “The pillars of corruption and arrogance are being arrested one by one.”
Appreciating the immediate action taken by Bidhannagar police in the matter, he said that the TMC era “extortionists” were arrested on war footing.
