One of the most dreaded criminals in Calcutta, Bholanath Samui, alias Kelo Bhola, who was linked to at least 11 murders, fell into the police net on Tuesday afternoon.

Samui was arrested with eight associates near Sealdah Kalibari, in Fordyce Lane, while planning a dacoity. The police found a map and firearms on the men.

Killing at will and extorting money from businessmen, the gangster in his mid-30s became a terror in and around Sealdah. “He has confessed to 11 murders and several extortion cases. He had a say in almost all business deals in the area and extorted between Rs 25-30 lakh per month,” said a officer of Muchipara police station.

Samui, a resident of Tangra, cut his teeth in crime around a decade back with railway scrap deals. He even had a hand in drug trafficking.

“Kelo became notorious with a string of murders within a span of few years, including those of Nandua, Rocky, Hirua and Dulal between Titagarh and Khardah, on the northern fringes. These murders, committed around six years ago, were related to railway scrap deals,” said the officer.

“Since then, not a single railway scrap deal in Sealdah has taken place without Kelo’s consent,” the officer added.

Government Railway Police officers said Samui extorted money from businessmen who transported goods by train through Sealdah station. Besides, he collected money from unorganised labourers, including porters, and vegetable vendors operating in and around the station and the railway yard.

According to the police, Samui was behind a few murders in central Calcutta, including that of trader Panchanan Yadav on December 21 last year under the Sealdah flyover.

“Kelo was held by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in connection with a double murder in Kalyani. He had then teamed up with Tapa and his associates,” said the officer.