Ambulances wrecked, syndicate suspect

KOLKATA: Four ambulances parked outside two nursing homes were vandalised and three crude bombs were recovered from the vicinity of Park Circus No. 4 bridge early on Monday, leading cops to suspect that an extortion racket linked with local promoting and parking syndicates was trying to terrorize residents.
Around 12.30am on Monday, an ambulance driver standing near four ambulances parked next to the MB Nursing Home on Dilkhusa Street was reportedly accosted by several locals. Locals and relatives of patients admitted at the nursing home claimed there was a hot altercation, after which the driver was slapped and all four ambulances vandalized.

Initially, when TOI spoke to ambulance owner S K Shakil outside the nursing home, he claimed he noticed the damage only in the morning. "There are opposing groups here. They ask for several subscriptions. The problem is that whenever I pay something to one group, the other comes and ask for more," he said.

Some local club members, though, claimed Shakil was "blowing things out of proportion." "No one was extorting anything from him. The young men were merely asking him to join them in a celebration and contribute whatever he wanted to," said Adil Rahman, a local resident. Shakil himself modified his statement in the evening. "This is the handiwork of some locals who were in an inebriated condition. The cops have identified the miscreants and I think this has been sorted out," he told TOI.

The cops did not entirely dismiss the incident after cops received information that three crude bombs and an empty blue bag was noticed at an abandoned place near 96, Dilkhusa Street, metres from the spot where the vehicles had been vandalized. "Accordingly, bomb detection squad personnel were informed, who came to the spot and defused the bombs," said DC (SED) Kalyan Mukherjee.

Neither the south-eastern division, nor Lalbazar wished to connect the incidents just yet. "We are investigating the matter and waiting for a formal complaint from the driver. As for the bombs, the area has extensive CCTV coverage and we are certain we can identify the accused," said an IPS officer at Lalbazar.

Almost exactly two years ago, the area saw a clash among two parking syndicates - which hold sway here - that saw 18 vehicles being damaged.