Kolkata, Aug 14 (PTI) Former Trinamool Congress chief whip in West Bengal Assembly Nirmal Ghosh, who was arrested in Odisha, was on Friday remanded to police custody for eight days in an extortion case.
Ghosh was picked up from a hotel in Balasore on Thursday in connection with his alleged involvement in the “hurried cremation” of the raped-murdered R G Kar hospital doctor and the extortion case.
The ex-Panihati MLA’s driver has filed a police complaint that Ghosh forcibly took away a lottery ticket against which he claimed to have won prize money.
The Barrackpore sub-divisional court in North 24 Parganas district remanded Ghosh to eight days’ police custody in connection with the extortion case.
Ghosh’s counsel stated that the TMC leader was granted bail by the court in the case concerning the “hurried cremation” of the R G Kar hospital doctor.
The lawyer claimed that the accusation against him regarding the cremation of the victim doctor in August 2024 was already being probed by another investigating agency, the CBI, as per a Calcutta High Court order over allegations of a larger conspiracy in the rape and murder of the medic.
He claimed that the state police cannot intervene during pendency of investigation by another agency.
The lawyer stated that while the court remanded Ghosh to police custody for eight days in the extortion case, the ex-MLA was granted bail in the case relating to the “hurried cremation” of the R G Kar hospital doctor.
The lawyer stated that Ghosh has already appeared before the special investigation team (SIT) of the CBI on summons by the probe agency.
The politician has been accused of extortion through threats of death or severe physical harm, organised crime and criminal intimidation.
Ghosh was greeted with blows and kicks by an agitated crowd when security personnel were escorting him to a prison van outside the Khardah Police Station to take him to Barrackpore sub-divisional court for production.
A visibly distraught Ghosh was also pelted with footwear, eggs and even muck by the mob despite the tight cordon of police and RAF personnel who covered his head with a helmet to minimise damage caused by the attack.
At the Barrackpore court, the TMC leader was also greeted with “chor, chor” slogans by another group of people waiting for him, even as the police rushed the accused to the court lock-up.
A 33-year-old civic volunteer, Sanjoy Roy, was convicted of the rape and murder, and sentenced to imprisonment for life. PTI COR AMR NN
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