KOLKATA: Bidhannagar Police arrested senior TMC leader and Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation chairman Sabyasachi Dutta in a late-night operation on allegations of extortion and criminal intimidation, in the latest controversy involving leaders of the ruling party.He is the second prominent leader from the area to be arrested after Sujit Bose, a former minister in the Mamata Banerjee cabinet.Dutta, councillor of Ward No 31 and chairman of the BMC, was taken into custody following complaints accusing him of extortion and issuing threats. A businessman lodged a complaint alleging that the leader extorted lakhs of rupees from him in 2018. Based on the complaint, police filed an FIR and arrested him. Dutta denied the charges.Dutta served as the mayor of Bidhannagar until 2019. He contested the 2026 assembly election from Barasat but lost to the BJP. He was also known to be a political turncoat. In 2019, he switched to the BJP only to return to TMC two years later.Dutta’s arrest added to the string of desertions and arrests that had hit Mamata Banerjee’s party since it lost office in West Bengal. Former sports minister Aroop Biswas was facing a probe while his brother Swarup, who controlled the Tollygunge film industry, was arrested.In addition, nearly a dozen councillors from BMC and Kolkata Municipal Corporation were currently in custody on various charges, including extortion.Dutta’s arrest came a day after another development involving TMC leader Jahangir Khan. According to police sources, Khan was arrested by the State Police Special Task Force (STF) near the Nepal border after remaining absconding for several days.Officials said the STF tracked his movements using intelligence inputs before carrying out the operation. Police said seven FIRs were registered against Khan at Falta Police Station in South 24 Parganas district.
