Bengal: Cheated by Sona Pappu, elderly couple seeks govt help; CM Suvendu promises concrete solution
The Statesman | 26 May 2026
An elderly couple from Bhabanipur approached the West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari during a public grievance hearing on Monday, alleging that they were cheated in a real estate deal by recently arrested land mafia-promoters Biswajit Poddar alias Sona Pappu and Joy Kamdar. The couple claimed they were left without the promised home despite handing over their ancestral property for redevelopment, forcing them to spend their later years in rented accommodation.
The matter surfaced during the Chief Minister’s pre-announced “Janatar Darbare (People’s Court)” programme, where citizens were invited to directly present complaints and grievances. Among those who appeared before the Chief Minister were octogenarian Probir Mukhopadhyay and his wife, who detailed the alleged fraud linked to the redevelopment of their ancestral property.
According to Mukhopadhyay, the agreement with Biswajit Poddar alias Sona Pappu and Joy Kamdar involved handing over the property for a real estate project in return for a residential flat after construction was completed. However, despite the project being finished, the promised flat was never handed over to the family.
The senior citizen further stated that the failure to receive the flat left the couple with no option but to shift to rented premises. He appealed for government intervention, saying the prolonged dispute had caused immense hardship in their old age.
The Chief Minister listened to the couple’s account in detail and assured them that the matter would be examined personally. The assurance appeared to bring relief to the elderly man, who later said that he felt reassured after receiving a commitment of intervention from the Chief Minister.
The Chief Minister also reportedly promised that efforts would be made to find a concrete and sympathetic resolution to the dispute at the earliest.
The “People’s Court” programme was attended by senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, including Locket Chatterjee and Sashi Agnihotri, as the Chief Minister continued interactions with residents over civic and personal grievances.