₹2.24 crore unearthed from TMC leader's farmland, total haul reaches ₹3.04 crore
Synopsis
Police dug up ₹2.24 crore in cash from trolley bags buried on a TMC municipality chairman's farmland — and that's on top of the ₹80 lakh already seized at his arrest. With a total haul of ₹3.04 crore and corruption charges tied to a state housing scheme, the Dipankar Bhattacharya case puts municipal-level graft in West Bengal under a sharp spotlight.
Key Takeaways
₹2.24 crore in cash was recovered from four trolley bags and a sack buried on the farmland of Dipankar Bhattacharya in North 24 Parganas .
Combined with ₹80 lakh seized at his arrest, total cash recovered stands at ₹3.04 crore .
Bhattacharya is the chairman of the TMC -controlled Baduria Municipality and was arrested on Monday night from a hotel in Baduria.
He faces two corruption charges: alleged commission-taking under the 'Banglar Bari' housing scheme and alleged extortion of local traders.
Complaints were filed by both CPI(M) and BJP ; a district court remanded him to police custody on Tuesday .
Police had earlier also seized approximately 4,000 government tarpaulins from a TMC office and Bhattacharya's garden house.
West Bengal Police on Thursday, 28 May confirmed that ₹2.24 crore in cash was recovered after digging up farmland owned by Dipankar Bhattacharya, chairman of the Trinamool Congress (TMC)-controlled Baduria Municipality in North 24 Parganas district. Combined with the ₹80 lakh seized at the time of his arrest, the total cash recovered from Bhattacharya now stands at ₹3.04 crore, according to officials.
How the Cash Was Found
The currency — predominantly in ₹500 denominations — was packed inside four trolley bags and one sack buried on Bhattacharya's farmland. Police stated that the notes were counted multiple times in the presence of bank officers before the final figure was confirmed. According to officials, Bhattacharya had confessed during interrogation that additional cash was concealed on his farmland, prompting police to take him to the site on Wednesday afternoon and carry out the excavation.
Arrest and Remand
Bhattacharya was arrested on Monday night at a hotel in Baduria, where ₹80 lakh in cash was seized from his possession. He was produced before a district court on Tuesday, which remanded him to police custody. Two separate complaints had been filed against him — one by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) and another by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — at the local police station, which triggered the arrest.
Corruption Allegations Against Bhattacharya
According to police, allegations of corruption had been levelled against Bhattacharya for a considerable period. There are currently two distinct charges against him: first, allegedly receiving commissions for allotments under 'Banglar Bari', the state housing scheme introduced during the previous TMC regime; and second, allegedly extorting local residents, particularly traders in Baduria. Police had also earlier recovered approximately 4,000 government tarpaulins from a local TMC office in Baduria and from a garden house owned by Bhattacharya.
What Comes Next
Questions are now being raised about how Bhattacharya could have accumulated such large sums of unaccounted cash. The scale of the recovery — buried in trolley bags across farmland — has intensified scrutiny on municipal-level corruption in West Bengal. Investigators are expected to probe the full trail of the funds and whether additional assets remain undisclosed.
Point of View
Tarpaulins stockpiled in party offices, and housing-scheme commissions point to a systemic capture of local governance rather than individual excess. What is notable is that the complaints came from both CPI(M) and BJP, suggesting cross-party consensus on the problem even as the ruling TMC faces the accountability question. The deeper issue is whether state-level enforcement will pursue the money trail upward, or whether this stops at one municipality chairman.
NationPress
5 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
How much cash was recovered from Dipankar Bhattacharya in total?
A total of ₹3.04 crore has been recovered from Bhattacharya — ₹80 lakh seized at his arrest from a hotel in Baduria, and ₹2.24 crore subsequently dug up from his farmland in North 24 Parganas.
Who is Dipankar Bhattacharya?
Dipankar Bhattacharya is the chairman of the Trinamool Congress-controlled Baduria Municipality in North 24 Parganas district, West Bengal. He was arrested on Monday night on corruption charges.
What corruption charges does Bhattacharya face?
He faces two charges: allegedly taking commissions for allotments under the state's 'Banglar Bari' housing scheme, and allegedly extorting local residents and traders in Baduria.
How did police find the cash buried on the farmland?
According to police, Bhattacharya confessed during interrogation that cash was hidden on his farmland. Officers took him to the site on Wednesday afternoon and, after digging, recovered four trolley bags and one sack filled with currency notes, primarily in ₹500 denominations.
Who filed complaints against Bhattacharya?
Two separate complaints were filed at the local police station — one by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) and another by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — which led to his arrest.
