BJP accuses ruling party leader’s kin of running chit fund scam, TMC denies it

Two top BJP leaders on Thursday accused the sons of a local Trinamul Congress leader of allegedly running a chit fund scam, based out of the industrial township of Asansol in West Burdwan district.

The Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, was first to make a social media post with the allegations on Thursday afternoon.

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In his post, LoP Adhkari alleged that Tahsin Ahmed, son of Shakil Ahmed a.k.a. Master Shakil, co-president of Trinamul Congress’ minority wing in West Burdwan district had collected unauthorised public deposits to the tune of Rs 350 crore from around 3,000 individuals in Asansol through an unlicensed corporate entity.

“He promised 14 per cent monthly returns, i.e. Rs 2.8 lakh on Rs 1 lakh investment in 20 months, and later vanished on 15 October. 3,000 families’ lives were destroyed. People sold their land, took loans, savings for daughters’ weddings wiped out, lifelong earnings gone, all because of TMC-Sponsored Fraud! Big TMC Leaders and the Corrupt Administration provided full cover; otherwise, such a heist would not have been possible. Where did the Rs 350 Crores go? Benami properties? Terror funding? Anti-national activities? TMC’s dirty political slush funds?,” Suvendu Adhikari claimed in his post.

Later, the BJP’s information technology cell chief and the party’s central observer for West Bengal, Amit Malviya, also made a similar post on this social media handle.

Both Malviya and Adhikari have attached a purported video of Tahsin Ahmed to their social media posts, where he allegedly expressed his inability to pay the assured returns to the depositors by the promised deadline of 20 October.

The Trinamul Congress has promptly reacted to the allegation with the local West Burdwan leaders denying any knowledge of such an incident. On Thursday, the block leaders claimed that the leader in question has no connection with the Trinamul Congress.

Mahafazul Hasan, district minority cell president of TMC’s West Burdwan district said: “We have come to know of the incident through media reports and people questioning Master Shakil at his home. The TMC has no connection with Master Shakil. Once he was the vice-president of the local minority cell of the party but not anymore. We have told the aggrieved people that they should go to the police and lodge a complaint. The administration will take proper measures. What his son is doing is not in our knowledge.”

TMC’s block president Animesh Das has also denied any connection with Master Shakil. “There is no connection with Master Shakil, against whom there have been allegations. I advise all the people, who have been complaining of losing money, to go to the police and ask for a proper investigation,” said Mr Das.