New Town BJP man faces ‘egg therapy’ after arrest over flat row
Times of India | 18 July 2026
Kolkata: A BJP functionary accused of extortion got “egg therapy” on Thursday after police arrested him for allegedly occupying a rented apartment in a premium New Town housing complex without paying rent and intimidating its elderly owner for years. As officers escorted him out, angry residents pelted him with eggs and assaulted him.
The incident took place at the Eastern High housing complex when Barun Biswas was arrested following a confrontation with the flat owner, 82-year-old Anita Banerjee. A large police contingent was deployed as residents gathered outside the apartment and handed him over to police after allegedly slapping and punching him.
Banerjee alleged she had rented out the flat to Biswas’s wife but asked the family to vacate after the tenancy expired. She claimed Biswas neither vacated the apartment nor paid rent, leaving dues of around Rs 16 lakh since March 2019. Maintenance charges of over Rs 3.4 lakh also accumulated, she alleged.
“I had renewed the agreement with him in 2018. After about two years, I asked him to vacate the flat. According to the agreement, I was supposed to give him two months’ notice. I actually gave him notice about two-and-a-half months in advance. He then said his wife was pregnant and that I would have to give him five years’ time. He refused to leave,” Banerjee said.
She said Biswas later tried to pay the rent twice, but she refused as there was no valid tenancy agreement. “I informed the housing society and the police, but no action was taken. Finally, I was compelled to approach the court in Dec 2020,” she said.
Residents alleged Biswas used his political influence to continue occupying the flat and had not paid maintenance charges for years. Biswas has been booked under BNS sections 308(4) and 351(3), dealing with extortion and aggravated criminal intimidation.
Reacting to the arrest, Rajarhat-New Town MLA Piyush Kanodia said: “What he has done is his personal matter and the party has nothing to do with it. If he has committed a crime, the police have done the right thing by arresting him.”