A small-time trader in Muzaffarpur has accused former Lalganj MLA Munna Shukla of extortion.
Sonu Kumar, a 24-year-old resident of Dharamshala Chowk, has lodged an FIR at Town police station against Shukla and three of his associates for extortion demands of Rs 50 lakh. The men allegedly ordered Sonu to vacate his house or pay Rs 50 lakh. A share of the house has purportedly been sold off to two of the men named in the FIR by Sonu's aunt (father's sister)
Police initially did not lodge an FIR on Saturday, forcing Sonu to approach senior superintendent of police (SSP) Ranjit Kumar Mishra on Sunday.
On his direction, an FIR was lodged against Shukla, the former Lalganj MLA from Vaishali district, Sanjay Paswan, Vimal Agarwal and Madhusudan Poddar.
A visibly upset Sonu told The Telegraph: "I was forced to meet Shukla at his residence in Nayatola on April 23 because of repeated intimidation by Paswan. Before I could meet Shukla, the other three men were sitting there. Once the former MLA came in, he ordered me to vacate my house-cum-shop at Dharamshala Chowk. He claimed my father's sister had sold her share of the land to Agarwal and Poddar, and I needed to vacate the house. He said if I didn't follow their orders, I would have to cough up Rs 50 lakh."
"I went to the Town police station on Saturday evening to lodge an FIR against Shukla and his henchmen for demanding extortion. The police took the complaint down but did not lodge an FIR. Finally, I met SSP Ranjit Kumar Mishra on Sunday evening and told him everything. The FIR was lodged on his order," he added.
Shukla denied he knew the trader or had demanded extortion money from him. He said: "I do not know anyone by the name of Sonu Kumar. I have nothing do with the disputed piece of land at Dharamshala Chowk. Let the police investigate into the matter and the truth will come out."
SSP Mishra has ordered deputy superintendent of police (city) Anil Kumar Singh to verify the case and start investigations. "If the involvement of Shukla and the others named in the FIR is proved, action would be initiated against them," he added.
