A Trinamool Congress councillor, Milan Sardar, was expelled from the party following his arrest by the CID on the charge of kidnapping a businessman from Tripura.

Seven other people, including an ex-policeman, have already been arrested in the case.

Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, TMC MP for Barasat where Sardar worked, announced his expulsion on Friday.

CID sources said Milan was arrested on Thursday on charges of kidnapping Debbrat Dey, a businessman from North 24 Parganas, for a ransom of Rs 2.25 crore. Sardar is reportedly also suspected of previous extortions, linked to several real estate properties.

On September 2, Dey was allegedly abducted from the parking lot of his acquaintance’s residence in Khardah. Some people allegedly brandished weapons and forced him into a car, where he was driven to a residential flat in Barasat.

While Khardah police had begun the investigation, it was later handed over to the CID. A day after the abduction, a team of detectives from the CID’s Special Operations Group raided the residence in Barasat and found Dey. Six people were arrested on the spot. The CID claims that all of them were involved in a “kidnapping nexus”.

The alleged driver of the car was later also arrested. During the investigation, Sardar’s name reportedly came up as a suspect in the case.

Reacting to the incident, Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Suvendu Adhikari said, ”Sardar was an influential leader of the ruling party in the district and had connections with several state-level leaders. This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are many such TMC leaders in the district, and across West Bengal, involved in extortion, atrocities, and other criminal activities. The party thrives on such people.”

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