Kolkata, June 29 (SocialNews.XYZ) Former Trinamool Congress councillor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Shams Iqbal got bail in a city court within hours of his arrest in an extortion case.
Officers of Garden Reach Police Station in Kolkata's port area arrested Iqbal on Monday morning. However, Iqbal, who is close to former Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, was granted bail after the complainant withdrew the case.
He was granted bail on a personal bond of Rs 1,000. According to the police, the case was withdrawn as both parties reached a settlement.
Shams Iqbal was a Trinamool councillor of ward number 134 of KMC. He is a 'close friend' of former state minister and ex-mayor Firhad Hakim.
He was arrested by police on charges of extorting Rs 70 lakh from a businessman. A case was registered against the arrested person under multiple sections, including the Arms Act. The case was registered under non-bailable sections. However, due to his influence, the matter was settled within hours.
Notably, Iqbal leads a luxurious life. There are photographs of him with celebrities on his social media accounts, as well as photographs of his foreign trips with his wife. Once, he caught everyone's attention by arriving at KMC headquarters in a luxury car worth crores. He was seen on the same stage with Firhad Hakim at several public meetings and programmes.
Allegedly, this leader extorted Rs 70 lakh from a businessman in the Garden Reach area by threatening him. A person named Mohammad Shadab recently filed a complaint against him at Garden Reach police station.
According to the complaint, Shams and his close associates started extorting money from the complainant from June 2023. They were told that they would have to pay money to do business in that area without any problems.
A total of Rs 70 lakh was extorted from him. The councillor also threatened to kill the businessman and his family if he did not pay the money.
The complainant then gave that money to run the business without any problems. According to the complaint, he claimed he had been unable to go to the police for so long due to fear. Even after this, it is alleged that more money was repeatedly extracted from him at gunpoint.
Based on the businessman's complaint, the police registered an FIR against the former Trinamool councillor. Apart from Shams, the accused include Mohammad Faraz, Feroz Qureshi and others close to the councillor. It is alleged that they had power in the area.
A case of extortion and intimidation was registered against the former councillor under the relevant sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
In addition, a case has also been registered under the Arms Act. However, it remains to be seen whether the charges against him will be dropped after the complaint reached a settlement with the councillor.
After the Trinamool Congress's defeat in the state Assembly elections, Trinamool councillors are being arrested one after another. Most of them are accused of extortion, molestation and intimidation.
It is claimed that those who could not speak out due to the Trinamool Congress's long-term power are now going to the police station to file complaints.
Source: IANS
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