Is Trinamool's Egra Municipality Chairman Facing Arrest for Corruption?
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Kolkata, Jan 3 (NationPress) The Chairman of the Egra Municipality representing the Trinamool Congress in East Midnapore district has been taken into custody on allegations of corruption, according to police reports released on Saturday.
A senior police official from the East Midnapore district stated that Swapan Kumar Nayak, the chairman in question, was apprehended in Kolkata on Friday for his involvement in the illegal leasing of government land and financial misconduct.
Acting Superintendent of Police for East Midnapore, Mithun Kumar Dey, confirmed that the detained chairman will appear in court on Saturday.
Notably, just days prior, several Trinamool Congress councillors had initiated a no-confidence motion against Swapan Nayak. This development has sparked considerable unrest within political circles, especially since the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, is also from East Midnapore.
On December 20, the Block Land Reforms Officer (BLRO) of Egra-I block submitted a formal complaint to the police.
The complaint alleged that land categorized as 'Khatian 1' (government-owned land) was transferred without the requisite government authorization and through an unregistered document.
Investigations have shown that this unlawful transaction led to a substantial loss of revenue for the government.
Following the inquiry, police have detained Nayak.
Superintendent Dey explained, "The complaint from the BLRO was filed on December 20. He unlawfully leased government land, leading to a loss of revenue. As a result of this complaint, the Egra Municipality chairman has been arrested and will be presented in court today, where we will seek his police custody."
Authorities are also looking into other individuals who might be connected to this case.
Interestingly, Trinamool leadership had previously directed Swapan Nayak to resign from his position as chairman, a directive he chose to ignore, thus leading to the motion of no confidence.
A vote was earmarked for December 20. However, at 4:30 a.m. on that day, Trinamool councillors protested against the chairman's entrance into the municipality building.
They accused the chairman of entering early to manipulate crucial documents. Consequently, they filed a complaint at the Egra police station, leading to the postponement of the vote.