OC’s guard, 3 touts arrested as ACB busts Rs 5.5L/day bribery racket running from Jhargram Police Station
Times of India | 27 August 2026
Kolkata: A police constable and three touts have been arrested by Bengal Anti-Corruption Branch in a crackdown on an extortion syndicate running out of Jhargram police station that generated average earnings of Rs 5.5 lakh a day.
The kingpin of the syndicate – constable Ratan Pramanik who served as the bodyguard of the officer in charge – and touts Shantanu Barik, Dipankar Barik and Ravi Barik targeted commercial vehicles, especially those carrying sand.
ACB officials confirmed that senior officers are now under the lens and investigators are trying to determine how such an enterprise functioned unchecked in a police station with almost corporate precision.
What sets the racket apart is its sophisticated, tiered hierarchy. Ground-level touts were assigned specific operational zones overseen by zonal supervisors. These supervisors reported directly to Pramanik, whose contact was saved in key operatives’ phones as ‘Jhargram Manager’. Daily collections across the sectors were brought to a central location, counted and systematically distributed among the syndicate members.
Initially charging a base rate of Rs 2,000 for every truck carrying sand mined illegally, the syndicate, under pressure after heightened govt enforcement on illegal sand mining, saw its demands reach Rs 15,000 per vehicle. The network then expanded its scope and started extorting money from legally operating freight trucks passing through the zone.
The downfall of the operation came after a transport operator lodged a formal complaint regarding extortion. ACB officers laid a trap, nabbing the three touts while they were accepting bribe money from a truck owner. Subsequent disclosures and raids netted approximately Rs 5.5 lakh in cash.
Pramanik was subsequently arrested, and the cash was seized. ACB investigators are conducting forensic analyses on digital devices recovered from the suspects and interrogating the arrested men to map out the entire extent of the syndicate. Officers are focused on establishing the time frame over which the racket operated, calculating the total volume of vehicles, and identifying higher-ranking officials who may have facilitated or profited from the scheme.
The OC has also been questioned, said sources. All four accused have been taken to Kolkata for further interrogation.