TMC tough hatched 'recapture' plot

KOLKATA: A 34-year-old man with close links to several senior Trinamool Congress leaders in the Port area masterminded the 'recapture' of the Kolkata Port Trust plot on Hyde Road Extension on Sunday.
According to Trinamool leaders in the Port area, Mohan Bahadur Singh, also known as Nepali Mohan, conceptualized and executed the 'recapture' of the 200-cottah plot on P-51 Hyde Road Extension near Taratala where 200-rod wielding men barged in hours after the port authorities had evicted Shree Venkatesh Films from the premises.
A crosssection of people - both within Trinamool Congress and the police - TOI spoke to confirmed Nepali Mohan's crucial role in Sunday's incident. Mohan is perceived to be close to local Trinamool councillor Mohammed Anwar Khan.
"Mohan handles the entire Taratala belt for a senior Trinamool leader in the area. He is the local muscleman. They could not have executed the recapture without his leadership," said a senior Trianmool leader in the Port area.
Nepali Mohan, however, denied any involvement when TOI tracked him near the Kolkata Port Quarters in Taratala.
"Did anybody see me near the spot where the recapture took place? Nobody did because I was not present anywhere near the spot. I don't know why my name is being dragged into the matter," said Mohan, who reportedly runs a transport business in the area. He resides in Kolkata Port Quarters in Ward No. 80.
Nobody spotted Mohan near the plot at the time of recapturing but in the industrial belt of Hyde Road, his involvement has become a common knowledge. Mohan, however, admitted to being an associate of Anwar Khan in the civic election earlier this year after which he joined the party.
"I worked for Anwar bhai in the corporation election. When he joined Trinamool I followed him into the party. Many people are jealous of me for this and they are trying to tarnish my name by dragging me into this matter," said Mohan. But people in the know said he was part of a meeting on Saturday evening where details of the recapture were finalized.
On Tuesday, TOI had reported how two rival factions of Trinamool in the Port and Taratala came together to 'recapture' the KoPT plot underlining the influence of Shree Venkatesh Films, Srikant Mohta's production house. The two factions allegedly owe allegiance to Mohammed Anwar Khan and Meghnath Poddar, an influential trade union leader in the area. Both had denied any links in the recapturing.
"Mohan was given the overall responsibility of the operation. He was to guide the entire team comprising some locals from the Port area and 'outsiders' from Behala and Tollygunge," said a Trinamool leader.
Mohan's main responsibility was to facilitate the entry of the men into the studio, neutralizing any local resistance since he is the local muscleman. His secondary responsibility was to manage the removal of materials worth several crores on Sunday night. The materials used in production of serials allegedly belonged to Shree Venkatesh Films, the production house that is shooting several serials on the premises. The materials were removed in several goods vehicles on Sunday night.
Anwar Khan blamed the BJP for tarnishing his name along with that of Nepali Mohan. "Despite several efforts, BJP has not been able to make a dent in the area. They are using this issue to tarnish our names. We condemn it," said Anwar.