Bengal court orders probe against Abhishek Banerjee in illegal land-grabbing case

A Nadia district court has ordered a police probe into allegations of illegal government land grabbing and sale involving TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee and 29 others across Nadia and Murshidabad. The complainant also alleged environmental damage and threats by party activists

Kolkata: Nadia district court in West Bengal has ordered a police probe against Trinamool Congress general secretary and the party’s Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha member, Abhishek Banerjee and 29 others in connection with a case of illegal land grabbing in Nadia and its adjacent Murshidabad district.

Among others named in the case are the Trinamool Congress legislator from Kaliganj Assembly constituency in the district; Alifa Ahmed, former Trinamool Congress legislator from Beldanga Assembly constituency in Murshidabad district; Hasanuzzaman Sheikh and several other leaders from the state’s previous ruling party from both these districts.

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Bapan Ghosh, a resident of Kaliganj, filed a case in the Krishnanagar District Sessions Court on July 15 alleging that since 2016 huge plots of government land had been illegally grabbed and sold both in Kaliganj block in Nadia district and Shaktipur village under Bendanga-2 block in Murshidabad district.

In his complaint, he also alleged that in the process of illegal land grabbing and selling, the greenery in both the areas in these two districts was destroyed, with several trees being cut off, causing damage to the environment and government property.

Ghosh also claimed that though he had reported this matter at several places, including the police and the forest department, there were no results and, on the contrary, he was threatened by Trinamool Congress activists.

After the change in regime in West Bengal in the recently held Assembly polls, he filed a petition at the Krishnanagar District Sessions Court in Nadia district in the matter. Finally, the said court, on Thursday, ordered a police probe on the basis of the complaint registered by the petitioner.

The comments from Abhishek Banerjee, the nephew of the former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and Hasanuzzaman Sheikh in the matter were not available.

Alifa Ahmed, however, gave her reactions to the media persons, denying all the charges labelled against her in the matter. “I was never involved with such activities. Such allegations are being made against me only out of political vendetta,” she said.