Around eight persons are under the scanner of the police in connection with the attempted murder of a land dealer in Siliguri. Police said they have also detained some persons and interrogated them. A land dealer of Siliguri, Bidyut Kumar Saha, was shot at near his residence at Sukanta Nagar under ward 38 in the evening on Independence Day.
He was admitted to a private nursing home at Sevoke Road, where, sources said, he was responding to treatment. “There are around eight local persons under the scanner of police as suspects. They are directly or indirectly involved in illegal land dealings. Police are suspecting that the attempt to kill Mr Saha was related to old land cases,” sources said. Mr Saha has contacts in Asansol as customers who purchased land in Siliguri, investigations have revealed.
“We are looking into all aspects of whether local persons or outsiders or both were involved in this incident,” said a police officer. According to instructions issued by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in April, the Siliguri Metropolitan Police (SMP) has started taking action against the land mafia, against people associated with illegal land dealings and land grabbing.
However, the opposition parties have termed it as eyewash. “We have shown no lacunae in taking action against land sharks. More than 100 arrests have been made in the last few months,” said a senior officer. Deputy commissioner of SMP (Headquarters) Joy Tudu said investigations were underway.