A Deganga restaurant owner has alleged that BJP workers vandalised the establishment, assaulted its manager and took cash from the counter after the business refused to pay what was described as security money, intensifying concerns over the safety of small businesses in North 24-Parganas.
The incident allegedly took place on Tuesday night. Restaurant manager Md Selim Uddin said a group led by former Barasat BJP president Tarun Kanti Ghosh arrived at the establishment after the owner refused to pay a large amount of extortion money. Uddin alleged that he was assaulted and threatened with death.
“Despite having valid documents for the restaurant, we are being repeatedly targeted. Tarun Kanti Ghosh arrived with his men, assaulted me and threatened to kill me. The owner was asked to pay a good amount as extortion money. We were harassed as we refused to pay. I am living in fear,” Uddin said, according to The Telegraph.
The restaurant supplied CCTV footage to the newspaper. The footage, which The Telegraph said it could not independently verify, purportedly shows an assault and a person removing money from the cash counter. The report did not provide details of the amount allegedly taken or confirm whether a police case had been registered.
Ghosh rejected the extortion allegation and offered a different account of the incident. He claimed that the restaurant was being used for prostitution and that BJP workers had identified what he described as a racket on Vijaya Dashami. According to his statement, the administration had subsequently closed the establishment, but party workers returned after learning that it had reopened.
“When we went there, the manager threatened us. There may have been a scuffle after an altercation. On our first visit, the man said he was a customer. Now he claims to be the manager. The administration will look into the matter. No extortion money was demanded,” Ghosh said.
The competing accounts leave key questions about the incident to be established by the administration and law-enforcement authorities, including whether the restaurant had valid operating documents, whether it had previously been closed, what prompted the alleged confrontation and whether cash was removed from the premises.
The allegation comes within 24 hours of BJP Debra MLA Subhashis Om being beaten by a rival group of party workers in West Midnapore amid allegations and counter-allegations over extortion. The two incidents are separate, but their proximity has brought renewed attention to claims involving coercion and political workers in West Bengal.
Since coming to power, BJP leaders, including state party president Samik Bhattacharya, have said the party would not tolerate extortion. The party has also suspended more than 100 functionaries over allegations of corruption and high-handedness. In the Deganga case, the next formal step rests with the administration’s inquiry and any police action arising from the allegations.
