Bidhannagar Police have arrested five Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel, including an inspector, for orchestrating a fraudulent income tax (I-T) raid in Chinar Park, bringing the total number of arrests in the case to eight.
Among those apprehended is a female CISF constable who had been posted at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital for the past four months, Bidhannagar City Police’s Deputy Commissioner (Airport Division), Aishwariya Sagar, confirmed on Wednesday.
The CISF had been deployed at the hospital in accordance with a Supreme Court order following the brutal rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor.
The accused, meanwhile, have been suspended from their duties.
The case came to light after Binita Singh, a resident of Chinar Park, lodged a complaint at Baguiati Police Station on 18 March.
She reported that at approximately 2 a.m., a group of individuals entered her residence, seized cash and valuables, and departed without providing a seizure list.
They also coerced her into signing a blank piece of paper.
Before leaving, the perpetrators removed the CCTV digital video recorder (DVR) and warned her against contacting the I-T department, claiming that the department would reach out to her instead.
However, after receiving no communication for several hours, Binita Singh visited the I-T office, only to discover that no such raid had taken place.
Realising she had been deceived, she promptly approached the police.
The impostors had reportedly taken approximately Rs 3 lakh in cash.
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Speaking at a press conference, DCP Sagar detailed the course of the investigation.
Scrutiny of CCTV footage from the area enabled officers to identify two vehicles involved in the incident – a pick-up van and a motorcycle.
“We traced the pick-up van’s registration number and arrested its driver from the South Port Police Station area. Upon questioning him, we learnt that he had been hired by a middleman, whom we later apprehended from the New Alipore Police Station area,” Sagar said.
Further interrogation led to the revelation that the middleman had arranged the vehicle on behalf of a CISF inspector, who was subsequently tracked down and arrested in Farakka, Murshidabad.
Subsequent questioning resulted in the identification and arrest of four additional CISF personnel, including a head constable, two constables, and a female constable.
“All five are serving officers and are currently in judicial custody,” DCP Sagar added.
During the investigation, police uncovered that the staged raid stemmed from a family dispute.
The complainant, Binita Singh, had been embroiled in a protracted property conflict with her stepmother, Arati Singh.
“Arati Singh and her relatives approached the CISF inspector and made a deal with him to conduct the raid and divide the seized money equally,” DCP Sagar revealed.
Arati Singh has also been taken into custody. A Test Identification (TI) parade is scheduled for 28 April.
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