Kolkata, Feb 10 (NationPress) Rabindranath Bhattacharya, the Trinamool Congress councillor who has been suspended and arrested due to accusations of culpable homicide involving an elderly man, has a substantial history of criminal conduct, featuring numerous past police complaints against him.

Sources from the police department indicate that multiple allegations have been brought against the Trinamool councillor, including misconduct towards law enforcement, obstructing investigations, and harassing and assaulting ordinary individuals.

A complaint letter from former Barrackpore Police Commissioner Manoj Verma to the Chairman of the State Bar Council about Rabindranath Bhattacharya's criminal conduct has come to light. In this letter, Verma outlines serious charges against the councillor, who was detained on Sunday night.

The then-Police Commissioner of Barrackpore noted that five cases had been filed against Bhattacharya over three years: 2017, 2019, and 2020. All of these were based on complaints registered at the Barrackpore police station. This was also detailed in the charge sheet sent to the Chairman of the State Bar Council, as per police sources.

On July 19, 2014, a case was registered against Bhattacharya under the Arms Act at Barrackpore Police Station, where additional charges were also added against the then-BJP leader and lawyer Rabindranath Bhattacharya.

According to police sources, on July 20, 2020, while investigating a complaint from a local resident, several police officers, including the officer-in-charge of Bijpur Police Station at the time, faced aggression from lawyer Rabindranath Bhattacharya. He is accused of obstructing police activities in the Barrackpore Sub-District Court, with allegations of misconduct also directed towards him. This incident was highlighted in the charge sheet prepared by the former Barrackpore Police Commissioner.

Manoj Verma urged the Chairman of the State Bar Council to take action against him as a lawyer. A copy of that charge sheet was forwarded to the Calcutta High Court Registrar, the State Advocate General, the State DG, the District Judge of North 24 Parganas, and various administrative levels.

A portion of the legal community believes that the charge sheet from former Commissioner Manoj Verma clearly illustrates how powerless the police feel against the violent actions of a powerful lawyer.

It has been reported that the lawyer's influence grew after he became a Trinamool councillor.

Rabindranath Bhattacharya began his political career with the Congress party before shifting to the BJP. However, it is asserted that he acquired substantial power after aligning with the Trinamool. He was a prominent lawyer at the Barrackpore court, and his connections within influential circles of the ruling party helped him secure a party ticket for the municipal elections. In 2022, this Trinamool leader was nominated from Ward No. 23 of North Barrackpore Municipality and won the council election. Since then, his influence has significantly increased.

In response to the matter, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) of Barrackpore Police Commissionerate, Indra Badan Jha, remarked, "This could be an old case from a long time ago. However, we need to investigate it. I cannot comment further without knowing the details, but I can confirm that the prior case is unrelated to the murder case; they are entirely separate matters."

On Sunday night, the Trinamool Congress suspended its councillor Rabindranath Bhattacharya in Barrackpore, North 24 Parganas district, following the passing of an octogenarian man who was reportedly beaten by the councillor.

Barrackpore MP and Trinamool president of the Dum Dum-Barrackpore organisational district, Partha Bhowmick, met with the family of the deceased and announced the decision to suspend the accused Trinamool leader.

The incident originated from an illegal construction adjacent to the elderly man's residence. Tulsi Adhikari (81), a Manirampur resident, had recently submitted a complaint to the North Barrackpore Municipality regarding the illegal construction, asserting that Rabindranath Bhattacharya, the local councillor of Ward No. 23, failed to take any action.

On Sunday morning, while heading home, Councillor Rabindranath confronted the younger son of the elderly man, Hemanta, and verbally abused him, allegedly calling him a supporter of the CPI(M). After returning home, Hemanta informed his elderly father of the episode. Later, Tulsi Babu, accompanied by his younger son, went to a nearby tea stall to express their dissent. At this moment, the councillor escalated his aggression.

It is alleged that the councillor verbally assaulted the elderly man in front of his son, shoved him, and even kicked him. The elderly man collapsed unconscious after the altercation and was rushed to Jagadish Chandra Bose General Hospital in the Barrackpore Cantonment area, where doctors pronounced him dead upon arrival.

The family subsequently lodged a complaint against the councillor at the local police station. Following this complaint, the accused councillor was arrested, and the party suspended him for six years.