Trinamool councillor Sushmita Bhattacharya Chatterjee and her husband were arrested on Tuesday on charges of extortion and cheating an elderly person, police said.
“The allegations include extortion, threats and cheating. The two are accused of duping around ₹30 lakh from an elderly person,” said a senior police officer in
Lalbazar.
With this, at least 13 Trinamool councillors across Calcutta and Salt Lake have been arrested since the Assembly election results were declared on May 4.
Of them, eight are councillors of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC).
Sushmita is the councillor of Ward 63 of the KMC.
“Salil Chatterjee, an insurance agent, and his wife, Sushmita Bhattacharya Chatterjee, are the two accused. They were arrested based on a complaint filed at the Watgunje police station on June 5,” the officer said.
They have been charged with BNS sections about extortion, cheating, wrongful restraint and voluntarily causing hurt.
“The complainant is a retired government officer in Kidderpore, said police sources. He was duped into investing money in an insurance scheme. Later, he was asked to invest more. When he refused, he was beaten up,” said police sources.
In a separate case, Trinamool councillor Mohammad Jasimuddin was arrested from his residence in central Calcutta on Sunday on charges of sexually harassing a minor.