Kolkata: Sudip Polley, the chairman of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Borough 16, who was arrested on Saturday, has found himself in deeper trouble after police disclosed that he has been named in six First Information Reports (FIRs). One of these FIRs includes an allegation of shoving and pushing the municipal secretary. The other cases, all pertaining to extortion, were registered at the Haridevpur and Thakurpukur police stations between May 20 and May 24.
Taking Polley into custody, police claimed that the Borough 16 chairperson is an influential individual who "created a reign of terror in his locality by his position". An officer stated, "There remains reasonable apprehension that he would influence witnesses and hamper the investigation." He added that during interrogation, authorities would ascertain the case facts, identify and trace other individuals involved in the offences, verify statements, and recreate the sequence of events.
Earlier, Polley, who is also the Ward 123 councillor, faced attempt-to-murder charges for allegedly demanding Rs 5 lakh from a small-time trader and assaulting him with an "intention to murder" when the trader refused to comply, as police informed the court on Sunday. Cops from the New Market Police Station initiated a probe after the new KMC secretary, Kishore Kumar Biswas, lodged a complaint alleging aggressive intimidation and obstruction of duty by a group of councillors on May 22.
According to the FIR, between 1:30 pm and 1:45 pm on Monday, councillors, including Polley and Baiswanor Chattopadhyay, stormed the secretary's headquarters chamber. They violently protested against the official adjournment of the House proceedings, surrounded his chair, used filthy language, and threatened him with dire consequences.
On May 22, Trinamool councillors broke into a protest when they found the chamber, where the House was usually held, locked. They eventually held a session in the councillors' club room, the first time ever in KMC's history.
