The wife of classical vocalist Ustad Rashid Khan, Joyeeta Basu Khan, alleged on Wednesday that police had stopped her car on EM Bypass and threatened to implicate the driver in a drink-driving case if he did not pay Rs 2,000.
Basu Khan said the vehicle was on its way to the airport to drop off musicians who had performed with Rashid Khan at a show.
“The car was stopped at the Chingrighata crossing near Beleghata traffic guard. There was a queue of vehicles from where police were extorting money. A cop demanded Rs 2,000 from our driver but when our manager who was in the car said he had only Rs 40 for parking fee, the cop threatened to prosecute the driver for drink driving,” Basu Khan told The Telegraph.
A senior officer in Lalbazar said on Wednesday evening: “We will start a probe at once if we get a complaint from the family.”
Basu Khan said: “We did not lodge any complaint anywhere.”
The police said a drive against drink driving was on when the car was passing through at 3.12am. Like other drivers, Khan’s driver was made to blow through a breathalyser that gave a reading of over 66 mg/100ml.
Under Section 185 of the MV Act, a person can be imprisoned for up to six months or fined Rs 2,000 if the reading exceeds 30mg per 100ml.
Basu Khan alleged the car was taken to Pragati Maidan police station, from where the driver called her. “I asked him to put the phone on speaker and spoke to the cops. I was told there was a drink driving case against him and that if I wanted my car back, I had to give an application,” she said.
By the time Basu Khan and her daughter reached the police station the driver had been taken to Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital. No blood or urine sample was taken, she said.
The police then found the car was registered in Rashid Khan’s name and he would have to sign the application. He went and signed but did not claim the car because the driver was still in custody. The driver got bail later in the day.
