No FIR required to probe extortion plaint

Kolkata: If anyone receives an extortion demand, all he has to do is inform the local police who should look into the complaint irrespective of a formal FIR being lodged or not: this was the message, loud and clear, from the Bidhannagar Commissionarate on Wednesday.
The announcement comes with education minister and Trinamool secretary general Partha Chatterjee declaring "anyone (from the party) found involved in syndicates will have to face disciplinary action.There is no question of going soft".The police would now look into old cases to study the pattern and methods adopted by syndicate members to armtwist their targets into agreeing to their terms. This cleansing drive, said insiders, was attracting new-found loyalty among the middle-class for the ruling party, which was in no mood to give up the advantage, especially with the Shahid Diwas rally slated for Thursday.
Two more arrests were carried out on Wednesday, carried out on Wednesday, the two pertaining to the National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (Nabard) case registered at the Electronic Complex police station. The arrested have been identified as Dukhiram Mondal and Prasanta Singh.Another person, Rono Mon dal, has also been detained.These detentions follow the questioning of Ramesh Mondal, who was arrested on Tuesday for trying to extort money from a Noida-based realtor.
NBCC India Ltd, a Navaratna company, was awarded the contract of constructing a Nabard building at Sector V, Salt Lake.Ramesh and eight of his associates reportedly visited the site and threatened to stop constructions unless all the building material was bought from them. The police said another five arrests were likely. Besides, Ahmed Ali, a syndicate member in New Town was also arrested on Wednesday in an old case.
On the list of extortion complainants is a section of auto and Toto drivers plying around Baguiati who claimed their vehicles were seized by local toughs at the bidding of an influential Trinamool leader.