Purulia Zilla Parishad official, nephew arrested for tampering Annapurna scheme forms

A civic body official along with his nephew has been arrested on Saturday night in West Bengal’s Purilia district, in connection with the alleged illegal entry into a government office and tampering with documents related to the state’s Annapurna Scheme.

According to the police, Purulia Zilla Parishad Sahakari Sabhadhipati Sujay Banerjee and his nephew, Kripasindhu Banerjee, along with others, had unlawfully entered the guest house of the Puncha Block Development Officer (BDO) on Tuesday night, where verification of Annapurna Scheme application forms was underway, and tampered with official records.

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A suo motu FIR was registered by the Puncha Police Station on Saturday night. The arrests come against the backdrop of widespread protests across Purulia district over complaints that many eligible women have not received the monthly financial assistance of Rs 3,000 under the Annapurna Scheme despite submitting all required documents and completing the application process both online and offline.

Following the complaint of illegal trespass into a government office after working hours and alleged tampering with official documents, police launched an investigation.

The investigation took an interesting turn when the police arrested Kripasindhu Banerjee along with Charan Pahari Das, Samit Kundu and Goutam Das, all elected members of the Puncha Panchayat Samity on Wednesday.

The four accused were produced before a local court, which remanded them to police custody for interrogation.

During questioning, investigators allegedly found evidence pointing to Sujay Banerjee, a senior Trinamool Congress leader who had unsuccessfully contested the 2026 Assembly election from Purulia, as the alleged mastermind behind the conspiracy.

Based on the findings, police arrested Sujay Banerjee on Saturday night and produced him before the court on Sunday, seeking his custodial interrogation for further investigation.

Reacting to the development, Jyotirmoy Singh Mahato, BJP General Secretary and MP from Purulia said, “Though TMC suffered a major setback in the Assembly elections, the leaders are continuing its attempts to destabilise the BJP government in the state by conspiring to trigger public unrest.”

He demanded strict punitive action against those found guilty and urged the Purulia district police to ensure a thorough investigation.

Police said the investigation is continuing and further arrests have not been ruled out.