West Bengal police have arrested a law officer of the Howrah Municipal Corporation and an NGO functionary for allegedly extorting money from hoteliers, private hospital owners, and real estate developers in Howrah city. The arrests were made following a complaint by Ashish Kapoor, who owns two hotels near Howrah station. Kapoor alleged that he was asked to pay Rs 50 lakh to settle a dispute regarding his hotel buildings.
The police are questioning the arrested individuals and investigating if more people from the municipal corporation are involved in the extortion case. The complaint stated that the NGO operator threatened Kapoor with demolition action by the civic body if he did not pay the demanded amount. Subsequently, the accused were apprehended after Kapoor reported the incident to the authorities.
Authorities suspect that the arrested duo had been operating an extortion scheme for around ten years, targeting various businesses by coercing them to pay money to avoid supposed legal repercussions. The police are delving into the possibility of other officials from the Howrah Municipal Corporation being part of this alleged extortion network.
