West Bengal: FIR against Suvendu Adhikari, his brother Soumendu for allegedly stealing relief material

Kolkata: Two central security personnel of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari have been called by Contai police station on Tuesday over an alleged claim that Suvendu through his CRPF security personnel had stolen relief material. A FIR is also lodged against the Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly and his brother Soumendu Adhikari who was the chairman of local municipality.

Ratnadeep Manna, a member of the civic body’s board of administrators complained that on May 29, the security personnel of Suvendu visited the godown where the relief materials for the Cyclone Yaas were kept and with the help of two civic volunteers looted tarpaulin worth rupees one lakh given by the ruling Trinamool Congress government.

Manna in his complaint also mentioned the names of the civic volunteers who had accepted to have committed the crime.

Notably, based on the complaint by Manna, police of Contai Police Station registered a case under IPC sections 379 (theft), 409 (criminal breach of trust), 448 (trespassing) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 51/53 of Disaster Management Act, 2005, which deals with misappropriation of goods meant for relief.

Meanwhile, Rakhal Bera, an hotelier and a close aide of Suvendu Adhikari was arrested by Kolkata Police and presented before the lower court on Sunday and post-hearing Rakhal was sent to police custody till June 12.

Incidentally, while Suvendu was the irrigation minister in 2019, Rakhal had duped people of lakhs of rupees by promising jobs in the irrigation department.

Though Suvendu was not available for comment, West Bengal BJP spokesperson Shamik Bhattacharya said that the arrest of the close aide of Suvendu proves that those who are not with the ruling Trinamool Congress are considered to be ‘anti-socials’.

“The incident happened two years back but then the alleged close aide of Suvendu wasn’t arrested and since Suvendu has left the TMC now the state government had started playing their games,” Bhattacharya mentioned.