An FIR has been filed against BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari and his brother Soumendu for allegedly stealing relief material from the Kanthi Municipality office. The complaint also mentioned that the BJP leaders used armed central forces in the alleged theft.
According to the police, the case has been filed against the Adhikari brothers on the complaint of Ratnadip Manna, a member of the Kanthi Municipal Administrative Board.
“On 29 May 2021 at 12:30 pm as per direction of Suvendu Adhikari and his brother and former Municipal Chief Soumendu Adhikari of Kanthi Municipality, Government tripal whose estimated value is around lakhs of rupees, was taken away from municipality office godown by forcefully and illegally opening locks,” read the complaint submitted by Manna at Kanthi Police Station on June 1.
On the other hand, Suvendu Adhikari’s close aide Rakhal Bera has been arrested for allegedly duping people with fake job promises.
Rakhal Bera, considered a close associate of Suvendu Adhikari, was arrested by Manicktala police station based on a complaint of Sujit Dey on Saturday evening. The complainant said the accused organised a camp inside a flat at the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics Cooperative Housing Society sometime between July 2019 and September 2019.
The accused ‘collected huge amounts of money’ from the public on the pretext of offering them a job in Group D (field staff) of the West Bengal Irrigation department.
The complainant also alleged that the accused took Rs 2 lakhs from him but did not provide him with the government job promised during the said camp organised in 2019.
Accused Rakhal Bera, Chanchal Nandy, and others have been booked under sections 120/B, 420, 467, 468, and 471 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
In this context, Fisheries Minister Akhil Giri said, “It was an investigation. There were allegations of financial fraud in the name of giving jobs while Shuvendu Adhikari was in the ministry. ”
Shuvendu Adhikari has been the prime target of West Bengal’s state administration since he won in the recent elections. Apparently, Mamata Banerjee made various allegations of corruption against Shuvendu, although she did not point the finger at him overtly. After the Yass catastrophe, as numerous dams were washed away, Mamata Banerjee vehemently criticized the former irrigation minister about accountability. Mamata ordered an inquiry into the functioning of the department that was led for a decade by two ministers who had crossed over to the Bharatiya Janata Party, Rajib Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikar.
What will the main opposition party do if the state police are active against the opposition leader? One of the party leaders said there would be protests at the political level. Besides, the party will be vocal about various allegations of corruption against Trinamool leader Abhishek Banerjee. The BJP frontline leader has repeatedly accused the Trinamool leader of stealing coal and sand during the Assembly polls. CBI interrogates Abhishek Banerjee’s wife and sister-in-law in coal scam. All eyes are on how the central agency is moving forward on this issue.
Meanwhile, police sent a notice to the Central Army personnel to interrogate the Adhikari brothers in connection with the triple theft from the municipality. Letters have been sent to two paramilitary (CRPF) personnel. Sources said they were asked to come for questioning on Tuesday. The troops are said to be deployed under the protection of state opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari.
