West Bengal: Youth loses Rs 21.8 lakh, alleges ‘cop’ extortion

KOLKATA: A 21-year-old resident of Murshidabad’s Jangipur has alleged that around 2pm on January 17 two cops threatened him and extorted Rs 21.8 lakh that he had collected from retailers Burrabazar and Posta on behalf of his company. The youth, Biswanath Das, is presently staying at a guest house on Nalini Seth Road.
The Posta police have registered a case of cheating, but said that there are certain gaps in Das’s account.According to the police, Das had checked into the guest house on January 13 and had returned on January 17 from Burrabazar after making collecting some dues on behalf of his company. “Two men barged into my room and asked to pay up. When I asked them to their ID cards, they were reluctant. Instead, they argued with me, stashed the money in a bag and left,” Das alleged in his complaint.
Police said they were trying to get CCTV footage from the guesthouse to verify the sequence of events. With the long weekend — which bring about a surge in sales — around the corner, cops fear more such criminals will arrive from other states.