Based on a complaint lodged by former Hindustan Cables Limited (HCL) employee and resident of Rupnarayanpur’s Rangamatiya area, Tapan Chakraborty, a case has been registered at Salanpur police station against local Trinamul Congress leader and block vice-president Bhola Singh, along with his three associates ~ Vineet Singh, Amit Singh and Akhilesh Prasad.
The incident has triggered a major political stir in the area.
Bhola Singh is known to be a close associate of Asansol Municipal Corporation (AMC) Mayor and former Barabani MLA Bidhan Upadhyay. He allegedly supervised MLA Local Area Development (LAD) and other related works in the Rupnarayanpur area on behalf of Upadhyay.
As former MLA Bidhan Upadhyay lived in a posh locality of Asansol, his associates ~ Bhola Singh, Asit Singh and Mukul Upadhyay ~ allegedly looked after the area on his behalf for past 10 years.
The FIR has been registered as Case No. 102/26 under Sections 316(2), 318(2), 318(4), 126(2), 115(2), 308(3), 351(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Salanpur police station under the Asansol Durgapur Police Commissionerate (ADPC).
In his complaint, Tapan Chakraborty made serious allegations, claiming that the accused demanded extortion money and illegally sought funds to allow his transport business to continue. When he failed to meet their demands, he was allegedly assaulted, threatened with false criminal cases and death threats, and his truck was allegedly seized.
He further alleged that on 19 July 2023, the accused forcibly obtained his signature on documents related to his flat and transferred the property into their own names.
The complaint also states that the accused repeatedly harassed and assaulted him after summoning him to the local Trinamul party office in the presence of Bhola Singh. They also allegedly visited his residence and assaulted his wife and daughter.
The main accused, Vineet Singh, allegedly threatened his wife by saying she would be implicated in criminal cases at various police stations in Bihar and Jharkhand. The family also alleged that they continue to receive threats to vacate the flat.
Owing to the repeated threats and attempts to evict the family from the flat, all members of the family are reportedly living in fear and under severe mental stress. Acting on the complaint, police have registered a case and initiated an investigation.
The ADPC West DCP confirmed that a case has been lodged and said that the accused would be arrested soon.