Police said on Thursday that Ahmed was arrested on Wednesday from Viringi in Durgapur area of neighboring West Burdwan district. He is the husband of former Burdwan Municipality councilor Shefali Begum, who resigned from her post last month.
When Iftikhar Ahmed was produced in the Burdwan district court on Thursday, the police sought 10 days’ custody for a detailed investigation. However, the court ordered three days of police custody.
According to the police, Iftikhar was for a long time using his political contacts and influence to extort money from people and businessmen in Burdwan station and Burdwan city of East Burdwan district.
It is alleged that he used illegal weapons to intimidate the opponents and created an atmosphere of fear in the area. Information about several cases registered against him between 2019 and 2026 has also been included in the investigation. Police claim that he gave many important information during interrogation.
According to the police, he had extorted a huge amount of money by taking advantage of his closeness with former Trinamool MLA Khokan Das of Burdwan South constituency. It was also revealed that this money was invested in different parts of the state.
Along with this, the police said that the arrested Trinamool leader has assured to cooperate in the investigation to trace the extortion network and illegal weapons.
The case began with a written complaint lodged on May 26 this year. Complainant Shivshankar Chaudhary alleged that his shop near Burdwan railway station was attacked and vandalized after he refused to pay the extortion money.
He was threatened with death at gunpoint and when he tried to protest, his wife was also assaulted. Later, the accused allegedly broke into their house and looted cash and gold jewellery.
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