Darjeeling District Police arrested TMC leader Kajal Ghosh in a land-grabbing and forgery case involving a 72-year-old woman
Kolkata: Darjeeling District Police have arrested Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and former booth president Kajal Ghosh in connection with a land-grabbing and forgery case involving a 72-year-old woman.
According to the prosecution, the case relates to the illegal occupation of nearly one acre of land belonging to Kalyani Goswami, a resident of Sahodargachh in Bidhannagar. The case also involves the manipulation of land records through coercion or forged documents.
Assistant Public Prosecutor at the ACJM Court, Soumitra Sinha Sarkar, said the investigation concerns land encroachment and the use of coercion or forged documents to alter land records. Investigators are examining whether a portion of vested government land was allegedly mutated in the name of the accused.
According to Goswami’s complaint, she was granted a patta for 1.21 acres of agricultural land at Borpaiakpara Mouza in Bidhannagar by the government during 1980-81. She said that around nine years ago, Ghosh forcibly occupied nearly one acre of the land. The complaint further states that a bottling factory was subsequently established on the occupied portion of the property.
Goswami also named Ghosh’s wife and others in her complaint. She said that she was threatened with death when she objected to the occupation and claimed that a nominal amount was later transferred to her bank account. She reportedly said fear for her life prevented her from approaching the police earlier. Following the written complaint, Phansidewa Police arrested Ghosh from the Bidhannagar area on Saturday night.
Ghosh, who previously served as president of the TMC’s Phansidewa Block-II unit, was also a board member of the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority (SJDA) and served as Karmadhakshya of the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad. The accused has denied the claim that he was framed and that the case was lodged against him for political reasons.
Ghosh was produced before the ACJM Court, which, based on the FIR and submissions from both sides, remanded him to three days of police custody. The investigation is ongoing, and authorities are examining further evidence related to the alleged land occupation, record manipulation and documents.
Meanwhile, tension was reported at the Siliguri Court premises during Ghosh’s production on Sunday. Some people threw eggs at him, following which a confrontation reportedly broke out between them and the police and Central Forces deployed at the court. The police subsequently detained those involved.
