Another Bengal Police officer arrested in Daspur extortion case

Kolkata : West Bengal CID on Friday arrested one more state police officer in relation with the extortion case in West Midnapore district’s Daspur taking the tally of total arrests to five, a senior CID official said.

The CID sleuths have previously arrested three police officers including an Inspector and a two Sub-Inspectors in this case while a caretaker of an apartment in south Kolkata has also been held.

“CID team has arrested sub-Inspector Pradeep Rath, who was named in the FIR in Daspur case. Rath was presently posted as the officer in-charge of West Midnapore district’s Belda police station,” Deputy Inspector General, CID, Nishad Parvez said in a release.

“The arrested was made observing all legal formalities. He would be produced to the court tomorrow (Tuesday),” he said.

During the incident, Das, known to be a close aid of former West Midnapore police chief Bharati Ghosh, worked as the officer in-charge of Daspur police station, where the extortion took place.

The CID raids started following a case of extortion and criminal conspiracy was lodged in West Midnapore district’s Daspur on February 1 after gold trader named Chandan Majhi complained against some police officers in the district thought to be close to former SP Ghosh.

The sleuths had earlier seized more than Rs. 2.4 crore in cash, several important government documents and an array of sealed liquor bottles while raiding a number of flats in an apartment in Kolkata’s Madurdaha, suspected to be owned by Ghosh while large amount of unaccounted cash was also seized from the house of several police officers named in the FIR.

Police officer named Rajsekhar Pain, who also worked under former SP Ghosh was arrested by the CID in relation to misappropriation of Rs 45 lakh from a local businessman.

Ghosh, once a favourite of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, reportedly fell from grace and sought voluntary retirement after being transferred to a less significant post as commandant of the State Armed Police’s Third Battalion. Her application was accepted.

CID issued arrest warrant against her February 10 on the charges of alleged extortion and criminal conspiracy and sent teams outside the state to look for her.

IANS