Cuttack, Aug. 21: The fallout of an ongoing tussle within the Cuttack Private Bus Owners' Association over elimination of the supervisor system at Badambadi bus stand here has kept police on their toes.

Three cases of bombing have been reported in the past month, including one last night. In all three instances, the bombs were hurled at the residences or offices of association members who had initiated a ban on the system.

The return of violence related to affairs of the bus stand after three years has made the police apprehensive. The cops suspect the attacks are a fallout of the ban initiated by a faction of the association.

The organised system of supervisors stationed in the bus stand area thrived under the patronage of goons, who saw it as a potential money-spinner.

"We are conducting a drive to flush out criminal elements who were involved in the extortion racket. As part of the exercise raids, we are conducting raids in Badambadi-Sankarpur area," assistant commissioner of police (Zone-VI), Cuttack, Anil Mishra said today.

"We have, in the past month, nabbed 20 such criminals, who are now lodged in jail. Most of them were involved in cases of extortion, attempt to murder and other criminal offences," he said.

Over a thousand buses from various parts of the state and the city move in and out of the Badambadi bus stand every day. The main problem the buses face here is extortion.

Around a hundred supervisors distributed over the Badambadi bus stand, allegedly at the behest of the extortion mafia, forced buses to shell out money for smooth movement in and out of the terminus every day. The amount reportedly varied between Rs 3,000 to Rs 10,000, depending on distance of journey and number of trips in a day.

Though there had been several complaints in the past, the police had not been able to intervene as the Cuttack Private Bus Owners' Association promoted the system over the years, senior police officers conceded.

The police, however, moved in when association secretary Ajay Barik banned the supervisor system in the bus stand area last month.

After getting the ban ratified at a general body meeting of the association, the police launched raids to nab the criminals posing as supervisors.

"Our aim is to keep the bus stand free from criminals involved in racketeering from private buses moving in and out of the city," Mishra said.

But the attempted attack on the residence of Barik, who is also deputy mayor of the Cuttack Municipal Corporation, on the night of July 19 had taken the police by surprise before the raids. The other two bombing incidents near two hotels in the city followed on the nights of August 13 and August 20. The owners of the hotel are members of the association and had voiced their support for the ban.

Barik said: "The supervisor system has to be eliminated at any cost as it is a nuisance for bus operators."