Funds scam probe: Ashoknagar civic chief held for ‘burning docus’
Times of India | 14 June 2026
Kolkata: Chairman of Ashoknagar-Kalyangarh Municipality in North 24 Parganas, Prabodh Sarkar, was arrested on Saturday on charges of allegedly burning several municipal records and crucial documents that had been stockpiled at his residence. Investigators suspect they were destroyed to conceal evidence related to the alleged misappropriation of municipal funds. The arrest comes amid an ongoing probe into financial irregularities within the municipality.
“Sarkar was arrested after allegations surfaced that important official documents were being burned at his residence under the cover of darkness on Saturday night,” a senior official of the Barasat district police said.
According to local sources, residents became suspicious after noticing a strong smell of burning paper emanating from Sarkar’s house. The matter was immediately reported to local BJP functionaries, following which party workers and supporters rushed to the spot. Cops from Ashoknagar Police Station also arrived shortly thereafter.
“Despite repeated knocking and calls, no one responded from inside the house for a considerable period. Police eventually entered the premises by scaling the boundary wall. Sarkar and his wife later came out and reportedly informed officers that only dry coconut and betel nut leaves had been burned in the garden,” an officer said.
However, complainants claimed that when police reached the spot, several important municipal documents were allegedly up in the flames. Police are said to have recovered and seized a number of burnt and partially burnt documents from the site.
As the news spread, locals and BJP supporters staged protests, prompting deployment of a large police force. Sarkar was initially detained and questioned. Based on preliminary findings and a formal plaint, police subsequently arrested him.
As the chairman was being taken to Barasat court, an agitated crowd hurled eggs at him and raised ‘chor-chor’ slogans. Police somehow managed to shield him and escort him safely into the court premises. He was produced before a Barasat court on Saturday afternoon and remanded in police custody for six days.
Local BJP neta Rinki Sur said, “Although he claimed that he was burning leaves, burnt municipal documents were recovered from the garden.”