New Alipore police arrested Swarup Biswas on Thursday evening. He is the former president of the Federation of Cine Technicians and Workers of Eastern India. He is also the brother of former West Bengal minister Arup Biswas. The charges against him include extortion and criminal intimidation.
The complaint
A woman member of a make-up artists’ association in Tollygunge filed the complaint. She alleged that she was denied work for nearly two years. When she approached Biswas seeking employment, she was allegedly asked to pay money. She also claimed she was threatened.
Wider allegations
Police are examining the complaint but are looking beyond it. Investigators are probing allegations that Biswas extorted several lakh rupees from multiple individuals. He allegedly used threats and his influence within the industry to do so.
His role in Tollygunge
Biswas had been a dominant figure in Tollygunge’s film industry for years. As federation president, he held considerable sway over employment in the sector. Sections of technicians and workers had previously accused the federation of exercising undue control over who got work and who did not.
Industry overhaul underway
The arrest comes as the Bengali film industry’s labour organisations undergo major restructuring. BJP MLA Papiya Adhikari announced this week that the federation will cease operations in Tollygunge. Technicians and workers will now fall under the Eastern India Motion Pictures Confederation, a Delhi-based body.
Adhikari said the move is aimed at bringing greater transparency and rooting out corruption. Tollywood workers will now be affiliated with the confederation instead of the federation previously headed by Biswas.