Two arrested for extorting businessman in Howrah

HOWRAH: In the backdrop of chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s diktat on cut money, two alleged Trinamool workers were arrested on Tuesday on the charge of extorting Rs 13.5 lakh from a businessman in Howrah’s Bally.
Victim Raju Prasad Chaurasia, a real estate businessman in Bally, lodged a complaint against the duo at the Liluah police station. The accused, Shyamal Sarkar and Amit Roy, were picked up from a hideout in Bally’s Nischinda and remanded in police custody for seven days.Police said they faced a murder charge for reportedly killing another businessman who refused to give in to their extortion demand. They were now out on bail.
Chaurasia alleged Sarkar and Roy forced him to pay the amount in phases over the past two years. They reportedly demanded another Rs 5 lakh from him. When Chaurasia refused, the two arrived at his house on the night of June 22. On not finding him at home, they threatened his mother, he claimed. “They returned later, pointed a gun at me and threatened me with dire consequences if I did not pay up. On Sunday, I lodged a complaint at the Liluah police station. I was emboldened by the CM’s stand against cut money,” he Chaurasia said.
Howrah City Police’s DC north Amit Rathore said, “We have arrested the two on extortion charges, based on the businessman’s complaint.”
Howrah Trinamool chief and state minister Arup Ray said, “Police will act against any offender.”