Kolkata: BJP legislator files complaint against Durga Puja committee over land encroachment

Kolkata, July 2 (IANS) Kashipur-Belgachhia BJP MLA Ritesh Tiwari has filed a complaint at Tala Police Station in north Kolkata against the Tala Pratyay Durgotsav Committee, accusing it of illegally occupying land at the Tala Gymkhana ground and vandalising property belonging to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC).

The Durga Puja organised by the Tala Pratyay Club in north Kolkata is one of the most popular community pujas in the city. BJP MLA Ritesh Tiwari has filed the complaint against puja committee official Dhrubajyoti Basu, alias Shubho, and his associates. The FIR was lodged at Tala Police Station on July 1.

In the complaint, Tiwari has claimed that the Tala Pratyay Durgotsav Committee has illegally occupied around two bighas of land at the Tala Gymkhana ground since 2018. He has also alleged that around 200 feet of the boundary wall, along with a large iron gate and grill at the KMC-owned ground, have been demolished. According to the complaint, a clubhouse has also been constructed on a small park.

The MLA further claimed that the alleged acts amount to organised crime or the activities of an organised crime syndicate under Section 111 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

He also alleged that electricity had been obtained fraudulently from the Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (CESC) in the name of the Tala Park Association. According to him, the address at which the connection was taken is actually a vacant plot in Ward No. 5 of the KMC that had been allotted to a voluntary organisation called Calcutta Rescue.

It has also been alleged that various structures and materials are kept on a large portion of the ground throughout the year. As a result, children and local residents allegedly have no access to the ground or any space to play. Several such serious allegations have been levelled against the Tala Pratyay Club.

–IANS

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