A 25-year-old man who police said has several extortion and murder charges against him has been arrested for allegedly masterminding the firing, as part of an extortion bid, in the office of a coal merchant in Ballygunge in south Kolkata two months ago.
Aman Sahoo, the accused, allegedly masterminded the extortion bid and firing from a jail in Jharkhand’s Pakur, where he had been lodged since his arrest in connection with a case related to a dacoity bid in Ranchi.
Sahoo has been brought to the city.
Kolkata police officers said they had learned from their colleagues in Jharkhand that Sahoo, wanted in dozens of extortion cases in the coal belt, was in possession of at least two AK-47 guns.
“Sahoo would not keep the arms and ammunition with him because he knew police from one or the other state would be chasing him. One of his trusted aides would keep the arms. He would ask for the arms only when he had a plan to execute,” said an investigator.
On January 8, a man had walked into the Sarat Bose Road office of coal merchant Anurag Poddar and asked for him. He allegedly fired in the air when those present in the office told him that Poddar was not around.
The man allegedly left five letters demanding money. A complaint was lodged with Ballygunge police station.
Eight persons, including Sahoo, have been arrested in connection with the extortion bid and firing.
Mayank Singh, an aide of Sahoo who allegedly claimed responsibility for the firing, is not among the accused behind bars.
Singh had purportedly sent a WhatsApp message to a city businessman saying his head would be blown off if his team’s demand for money was not met, an officer said.
Sahoo, who was booked several times by the police outside Bengal, had allegedly tried to spread his tentacles in Kolkata through his associates here and other parts of the country, the officer said.
It had taken multiple reminders and arrest warrants from the city police to the Pakur jail to get the custody of Sahoo, the officer said.
Sources said Sahoo had been running the extortion racket from inside the jail with the help of his associates in Bangalore, Jharkhand and Kolkata.
