Councillor Susanta, named in extortion case, dodges cops, driver held

Kolkata: KMC councillor Susanta Ghosh, named in an extortion case, was spotted on the Bengal-Odisha border on Friday but he, along with his family, reportedly fled, leaving his car behind, before police could reach him. His driver was, however, arrested from the Belda-Odisha border area.Ghosh, Ward 108 Trinamool councillor, has reportedly remained untraceable amid allegations that he and his associates extorted nearly Rs 3 crore from hawkers and traders in a market in the Anandapur area. More than 130 members of a hawkers’ committee lodged a complaint at the Anandapur PS last week.The complainant claimed that between 2022 and 2023, Ghosh and at least seven of his aides collected money from traders in the name of allocating and building shops for them in the market near Ruby Hospital. Tin-shed, shuttered shops were indeed built but traders were told a select group would decide on the slotting. Hawkers alleged rates were fixed according to the size and location of the shops, forcing traders to pay to secure allotments. They alleged several of the shops were sold for Rs 6 lakh each, generating nearly Rs 3 crore.