Three Trinamool Congress leaders were arrested in the Mandirbazar area of West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district on charges of extortion. The arrested individuals are Reshmi Piada, her husband Taimur Piada, and Abdur Razzak Halder. They are set to appear before the Diamond Harbour sub-divisional court, with police likely to request custody for further investigation.
A senior officer from the Sundarban Police District stated that the arrests were made following complaints from local residents. The accused are alleged to have extorted money by promising people benefits from government welfare programs in the Krishnapur gram panchayat area. An investigation is ongoing, and the police intend to advance the inquiry through custody.
The police have accused the three Trinamool Congress leaders of extorting money from individuals under the guise of facilitating access to government welfare schemes. Allegedly, people were coerced to make payments through intermediaries to avail benefits from initiatives like housing, old-age pensions, road construction, and water projects. It was claimed that without payment, inclusion in government projects would have been nearly impossible.
Based on a formal complaint filed last week, the Mandirbazar police station initiated an investigation into the accused. The probe revealed the active involvement of Reshmi Piada, Taimur Piada, and Trinamool leader Abdur Razzak Halder in the alleged extortion activities. The trio was apprehended at their residences on Sunday night for allegedly collecting substantial sums of money from numerous individuals by promising government scheme benefits.
Local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kaushik Purkait responded to the arrests by highlighting the long-standing issue of organized extortion under the guise of ‘cut money’. He emphasized that many disadvantaged families had been compelled to part with their earnings in the hopes of receiving government support. Purkait stressed the need for accountability beyond the lower-level leaders, urging the prosecution of those orchestrating and benefiting from the extortion network.
