Promoter assaults Golpark man, now US citizen, after extortion bid
Times of India | 1 February 2024
KOLKATA: Jishnu Nath, a US citizen of Kolkata origin, was allegedly assaulted by members of a south Kolkata promoting syndicate after he refused to pay a hefty subscription to them. The 55-year-old suffered a serious injury to his left eye and multiple wounds on his body. He is now planning to approach the US consulate informing them about the incident and seeking immediate remedy.
Nath - who was born and brought up in Golpark - had shifted to this residence in the early 90s. In 1992, after getting an engineering degree from Jadavpur University, he went to the US. He completed double masters there and works as an independent consultant in Seattle.
His brother-in-law - who stays at Belur and hails from Punjab - was threatened too with dire consequences when he tried to come to the victim's rescue.
The promoter and his brother, who runs a construction material supply business in the Kankulia Road area off Golpark, had asked Nath to pay a "subscription" since he has been remodeling his two-storey house on Kankulia Road for the past two years without buying any construction material from them.
Nath reached Kolkata on January 17. The last time he came to the city was in 2019. "The house was mostly under lock and key and my well-wishers looked after it. The redevelopment work began a couple of years ago, for which some consultants and masons were appointed. The promoter, Khokon Sardar, and Rabin Sardar alias Bhailo targeted these men. The promoter kept asking for money but I had instructed them not to entertain any negotiations," Nath told TOI.
On Monday, around noon, he was going to a local eye clinic with his brother-in-law, when he was stopped by Bhailo near the main gate. "I asked him to remove some construction rubbish - kept in jute bags - from near my house. He said it could not be my headache and directly asked me to pay up. When I refused, Bhailo punched me in the eye. He assaulted me even as a couple of others stood guard. My brother-in-law tried to intervene but was threatened. I called the cops who initially asked me to go to Rabindra Sarobar police station. However, a little later, a cop did come to check but the main complaint was lodged not until late evening," claimed Nath.
Bhailo, however, rubbished the allegations. "Nath was abusive from the very beginning over some construction material kept near his residence. He charged a few of us with bamboo sticks. A couple of locals resisted, leading to the incident," he claimed.
Nath said he had been planning to open a school on the premises but is now he would have to rethink.
The cops stated they are investigating all angles. "There have been some allegations. There are some counter-allegations too. A case is being initiated in this regard on the complaint of Nath," said an officer of Rabindra Sarobar police.
Joint CP (crime) Syed Waquar Raza later said: "A case has been registered under IPC sections 41, 326, 385, 379, 506, and 34. Efforts are on to arrest the accused.
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