Patuli councillor in cop net on extortion charge

Kolkata: Bappaditya Dasgupta, KMC councillor from the Patuli area, was arrested on Saturday night on the charges of extortion, criminal conspiracy and criminal intimidation.Dasgupta is the sixth KMC councillor to be arrested in the past 13 days.In the evening, Dasgupta’s close aide and Trinamool youth functionary Sourav Ghosh was arrested on the same charges. Ghosh allegedly told police he carried out the extortion at the behest of Dasgupta.A large group of residents gathered outside the Patuli PS and shouted “chor, chor (thief)” at Dasgupta, the Ward 101 councillor, as he was escorted out of the police vehicle into the police station. Police said Dasgupta and Ghosh allegedly extorted large amounts—Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh—from traders in the area, promising them shops in and around Patuli but never allotted any.