Kolkata, Apr 15 (PTI) Trinamool Congress’ Bhangar assembly seat candidate Saokat Molla, whom opposition ISF and BJP accuse of being behind many incidents of violence in the constituency, has no pending criminal cases against him, according to his affidavit to the Election Commission.
He has immovable property worth Rs 1.54 crore while his spouse has immovable property worth Rs 1.18 crore, according to the affidavit Saokat submitted to the Election Commission along with his nomination.
Saokat, who was elected to the West Bengal assembly on a TMC ticket from adjacent Purba Canning constituency in 2021, both in South 24 Parganas district, declared that he has no pending criminal cases against him.
Opposition parties, ISF and BJP, have on several occasions alleged that goons owing allegiance to Saokat had indulged in violence in Purba Canning and Bhangar, where political strife is a common occurrence.
The TMC MLA from Purba Canning has movable assets worth Rs 90 lakh and has no motor vehicle to his name, according to the affidavit declaration.
In 2021, Saokat had movable assets worth Rs 1.60 crore and owned a 2019-purchased SUV, as per his affidavit submitted then.
In 2021, the market value of Saokat’s immovable properties was stated to be Rs 87 lakh, while that of his spouse was Rs 15.9 lakh.
Among the immovable assets, Saokat has five parcels of land, measuring over 12 acres, of which two were inherited.
His spouse has 22 parcels of land owned by her, with the biggest measuring three acres and the smallest being 0.007 acres, according to the affidavit, which stated that one of these pieces of land was inherited by her.
In the 2021 affidavit, Saokat declared that he owned five parcels of land, all of which he had purchased, while his spouse owned nine parcels of land, of which one was inherited.
Saokat also has a residential building measuring 1,800 square feet at Mandalpara Purba under Jibantala police station area in South 24 Parganas district.
Saokat, who stated in the affidavit that his sources of income were remuneration as an MLA, and income from fishery and agriculture, declared Rs 17.46 lakh as his annual income in the financial year 2024-25, while in 2019-20, it stood at Rs 16.16 lakh.
The 54-year-old outgoing TMC MLA of Purba Canning stated that his highest educational qualification is a Master of Arts in Political Science from Singhania University, obtained in 2021. PTI AMR RG
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