Gunfire rocks Kolkata as gang tries to extort New Alipore businessman

KOLKATA: A businessman was intercepted in broad daylight on Wednesday in a bustling area of Taratala, on the southwestern fringes of Kolkata, by a gang of extortionists, several of whom were dressed in combat fatigues. The gang members opened fire twice: at the abduction spot and again at the victim’s office in New Alipore’s Sahapur Colony, metres from the local MLA and the state power minister’s office.
The extortion of 36-year-old Arindam Dhar, who has a travel agency and a garments outlet, and business interests in Nepal, was foiled by a group of residents of Sahapur Colony. They managed to overpower a gang member.

Later, three more from the gang were arrested, one of them Dhar’s relative.
The action unfolded around noon at the foot of the Sampriti Bridge, the flyover between Jinjirabazar and Batanagar. Dhar had left his Sahapur Colony office a while ago with two staff members — Nitesh Singh, 18, and Rahul Das, 20 — in a red hatchback, driven by Md Fazlur Rehman. Suddenly, a red SUV and an off-white micro hatch screeched to a halt before Dhar’s car, forcing Rehman to slam the brakes.
According to police, Raja Dutta, 35, an extortionist based in Behala who used to be the aide of a dreaded criminal who used to operate in the belt, pulled Dhar out of the car, brandishing a pistol, and demanded Rs 200 crore from him. There were eight others with him, several of them armed. When Dhar said it was a ridiculous amount, one of them fired a shot in the air. Unnerved, Dhar said he could cough up Rs 15-20 lakh that he had in his office. Thereafter, the gang split in two: five of them forced Dhar’s staff and driver into the SUV, while Dhar himself was bundled into the other car by four others. While the SUV drove off towards Maheshtala, the car carrying Dhar did a U-turn and returned to Sahapur Colony via Taratala crossing and New Alipore. Once the car reached Dhar’s office, three gang members waited in the vehicle, while another — later identified as Sanjoy Roy alias Lebu Sanjoy, 32 — escorted Dhar into the office. Back in familiar territory and spotting a chance to foil the extortion attempt, Dhar raised the alarm. Lebu, who was carrying a pistol, panicked and fired at Dhar, but the bullet just grazed his leg, causing very little injury. Lebu, meanwhile, realised the game was up and attempted to flee but was caught by locals, who converged on the spot after hearing the gunshot.
Madan Saha, who runs a grocery store on the Sahapur Colony Road, barely 50 metres from Dhar’s office, said he suddenly heard people scream “Chor! Chor!” “I ran out to catch the thief and saw a man dressed in Army fatigues run towards my shop. Since Army personnel are often sighted in the area, it took a while to register that people were running after him. I then pounced on him and grabbed him by the collar. It was only later that I learned that he was carrying a gun,” Saha recounted.
Though the off-white hatchback managed to flee, police later arrested all its occupants — Shambhu Khaini, Primal Ray and Tapan Saha — from hideouts in Behala and Maheshtala. Saha, incidentally, is linked to Dhar’s maternal family. Dhar’s office staff and driver were released by the gang at the Taratala bus depot near Parnasree three hours later.
Before Lebu could free himself, the locals overpowered him, snatched his gun away and beat him up. Accounts of another store-owner suggested the gang had carried out a recce in the locality for some days.
Ruth Chatterjee, who has a garments shop near Dhar’s store, said she had often spotted the off-white mini hatch parked near the store. “The same car was parked when I opened the shop around 12.30pm on Wednesday. I did not suspect anything till a little later, when I saw a man in combat fatigues come running towards it, with Dhar in pursuit. Before I could realise what was happening, the car sped away,” she recounted.
Local MLA and power minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, who has an office just opposite the lane in which Dhar’s office is located, said news of the attempted kidnap and extortion was disturbing. “I was at the state assembly when the incident happened. After I heard, I called DC (south) Meeraj Khalid. I asked party workers to check whether the CCTV camera had captured anything. We have shared the video recording with police,” said Chattopadhyay.
Joint CP crime Praveen Tripathi said the incident was being investigated. “Raids are on to nab the remaining gang members. Also, there are some questions, to which we need answers,” he said.