The alleged re-emergence of an extortion racket run in the name of collecting government revenue from trucks carrying stone chips prompted the CPM to hit the streets in Birbhum’s Rampurhat on Monday.
Sources said the exercise to collect money by “private players” in the name of government revenue stopped in March last year after the Bogtui massacre, in which 10 lives were lost in the arson triggered by the murder of Trinamul deputy chief of Barshal gram panchayat Bhadu Sheikh.
Sources said that Bhadu’s murder was linked to rivalry between two Trinamul factions over collection of illegal money from trucks transporting stone and sand.
“The extortion under the garb of revenue collection had the blessings of the administration. Everyone knows Bhadu’s murder and the retaliatory killings of 10 people were the results of rivalry over extortion. Extortion is Trinamul’s way of raising funds. It has resumed and we apprehend Bogtui-like violence in the future. To pre-empt such violence we have launched a movement against the extortion racket,” said Sanjib Barman, a CPM district secretariat member in Rampurhat under which Bogtui falls.
Birbhum district is a source of stone chips for the entire state as there are around 1,000 stone mines and crushing units in areas like Rampurhat, Pachami, Nalhati and Muraroi.
The land and revenue department sets up camps near stone crushing units to collect revenue against a receipt locally called DCR (duplicate carbon receipt).
“The entire DCR process is illegal and a large number of trucks are given fake documents. The extortion money goes into the pockets of ruling party leaders,” Barman said.
After a demonstration of 30 minutes, CPM leaders submitted a memorandum to Rampurhat SDO Saddam Navas to end the alleged extortion.
“I have forwarded the communication to my seniors in the district,” said the SDO.
A transport businessman whose trucks ferry stone chips and sand across the state said the DCR system had returned after a gap following the Bogtui carnage and various agencies probing the massacre.
“Now, extortion is back in the garb of revenue collection,” the businessman added.
Sources said the Opposition parties, including CPM, were preparing to mount political pressure on Trinamul at a time when Birbhum ruling party strongman Anubrata Mondal was in Asansol jail, arrested last August by the CBI in connection with a cattle-smuggling case.
“Anubrata’s exile put an end to extortion in the district. But the rural polls due this year, Trinamul is back to its old ways of raising money,” said a CPM leader.
Trinamul leaders claimed the CPM had no support in the area and hence was trying to tarnish Trinamul’s image.
A senior official in the district administration also termed the charges as baseless.
“The local block land and revenue office controls the checkpoints to ensure no vehicle can pass without paying government revenue. There is nothing illegal in the process,” said an official.