Protesters hurl eggs at TMC councillor Bappaditya Dasgupta following arrest on extortion charges

Kolkata: Public outrage erupted on the streets of southeast Kolkata on Sunday as hundreds of local residents congregated outside a neighbourhood police precinct to demonstrate against Trinamool Congress Councillor Bappaditya Dasgupta following his arrest on several severe criminal charges, including extortion.

The mounting public resentment culminated when demonstrators targeted the accused political figure by hurling eggs at him as law enforcement officers in Patuli escorted him to the Alipore court under a heavy security detail.

Dasgupta, who represents Ward 101 within the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, was taken into custody Saturday evening alongside an associate identified as Sourav Ghosh.

A senior Kolkata Police official confirmed that both suspects have been booked under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS). The statutory charges encompass extortion, criminal trespass, criminal intimidation, and attempted arson, among other serious infractions.

The criminal prosecution originates from a formal complaint filed by a local attorney, Paramita Dey. The complainant alleged that Dasgupta demanded an illicit payment of ₹20 lakh when she attempted to establish a private legal office within her personal residence.

According to the investigation, Dey ultimately surrendered ₹2 lakh to the suspects following protracted periods of institutional pressure and intimidation.

"The complaint further alleges that shortly after the declaration of the 2021 Assembly election results, Dasgupta and his associates unlawfully entered Dey's residence, vandalised property and attempted to set it on fire," the police official stated.

Dey further asserted that despite rendering the partial payment, she was subjected to continuous threats from the councillor's political loyalists, alongside sustained social harassment and community ostracism. The adverse conditions eventually compelled her to vacate her home and relocate from the neighbourhood.

Gathered outside the Patuli Police Station, demonstrators chanted slogans denouncing the councillor as a "thief" while demanding the application of maximum legal penalties against him. Multiple local residents stepped forward to accuse Dasgupta of systemic involvement in illicit land-grabbing operations and the targeted intimidation of individuals who refused to comply with his financial demands.

The security environment grew volatile as police forces, reinforced by central paramilitary personnel, attempted to transport the accused from the detention facility to the courthouse.

Eyewitnesses reported that protesters attempted to obstruct the path of the law enforcement convoy and repeatedly pelted the vehicle transporting Dasgupta with eggs, highlighting the depth of community anger underlying the legal case.

"These outbursts from people are the fallout of the long-term torture they have been subjected to by these TMC leaders. People are now coming out to register complaints because they trust PM Modi's slogan of 'Bhoy out, Bharosa in'. These accused leaders cannot escape the law, which will take its own course. I will only reiterate what our chief minister has appealed to the people of Bengal about not taking the law into their own hands," stated Indranil Khan, a minister serving in the newly elected Bharatiya Janata Party government.

With inputs from PTI