Waste processing for six municipal areas was disrupted in Dum Dum on Monday after workers stayed away from a dump yard following alleged extortion threats, with the contractor claiming that employees had been assaulted and intimidated by a group demanding control over operations.
The owner of the agency contracted to run the dump yard, Sudhir Satnaliwala, alleged that the group had been sent by Dum Dum BJP MLA Arijit Bakshi. Bakshi denied the allegation and said the people who visited the site were residents protesting alleged anti-social activities in and around the dump yard.
An officer of the Barrackpore Police Commissionerate said police had begun examining CCTV footage provided by the complainant. The police response followed a complaint from the contractor, who alleged that officers had initially declined to accept it. The complaint was later emailed to the police, according to Satnaliwala.
Satnaliwala said a group went to the dump yard on Saturday evening, assaulted the site-in-charge and site supervisor, and took them to a club near Deshbandhu School. He alleged that the two employees and other staff members were heckled, abused and threatened with serious consequences unless several demands were met.
According to the contractor, the demands included appointing people from the club, removing existing staff, using dumpers supplied by the group, making monthly payments to the club, sponsoring a local football match and allowing the group to control the supply of construction material to the site. These allegations have not been independently established.
Satnaliwala said most employees stayed away from work on Monday because they were afraid after receiving individual threat calls. Only four or five workers reported for duty, he said, raising the possibility of continued disruption to waste processing for the six municipal areas dependent on the facility.
Bakshi rejected any link to the BJP and said the people who went to the dump yard were not members of his party. He alleged that residents had gone there because of concerns about anti-social activities, including drug-related activity, and said women felt unsafe while crossing the stretch. He said the BJP had no connection with the incident.
The contractor, who said he had worked in the waste-processing business for more than three decades, also alleged that police acted only after the matter received publicity. He said employees were called to the police station on Monday evening. Police examination of the CCTV footage and the statements of the complainant’s employees are the next steps identified in the case.
