Over a fortnight since Barrackpore-based businessman Ajay Mandal’s Volvo car was sprayed with bullets on BT Road, police on Saturday arrested Sahil, an aide of the alleged Bihar-based gangster Subodh Singh, from Chapra on Saturday.

“Sahil was among those who came riding two motorbikes and shot at least five bullets at Mandal’s car near the Rathtala crossing on BT Road on June 15,” said a senior officer of the Barrackpore police commissionerate.

Immediately after committing the crime, Sahil left Calcutta for Bihar and the police had been on his heels since.

Sahil’s arrest came within days of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) getting custody of Subodh.

Subodh, alleged to be behind a string of attempted robberies in Bengal besides threatening several Barrackpore-based businessmen with extortion calls, was brought from Beur jail in Patna earlier this week and produced before a court in Asansol, which remanded him to CID custody till July 17.

During interrogation it surfaced that Subodh had started building his network across parts of North 24-Parganas since 2007, when he lived in Sodepur, about 17km north of Calcutta, CID officers said.

“It appears that Subodh began building his criminal network in 2007 when he put up in a rented accommodation in Ramchandrapur in Sodepur,” said a senior CID officer.

“This gang later went on to commit at least two dacoities in Madhyamgram and Baguiati.”

Almost a decade later, Subodh returned to Bengal, this time to Howrah’s Bally, where he stayed at a rented accommodation for close to a fortnight, officers said.

While at Bally, Subodh picked up a few of his aides before robbing a shop in Hirapur near Asansol, the officer said.

Officers said immediately after committing the crime, Subodh left for Bihar with one of his aides.

The Telegraph had reported on June 20 how Subodh was allegedly linked to at least two recent incidences of crime over the last few weeks, including heists at gunpoint at two jewellery shops in Ranigunj, near Asansol, and Domjur in Howrah.

Besides Mandal, Subodh is alleged to have made extortion calls to at least two other businessmen based out of Barrackpore, including Ajay Bhakat, a Baracckpore-based owner of an eatery, and Anirban Das, owner of the D Bapi chain of biryani shops.

Bhakat said he received a call from Roshan Yadav, one of Subodh’s aides lodged in Patna’s Beur jail, officers said. The next day, Subodh called to say the call was made on his instruction, Bhakat said.

A few days later, Das, the owner of the D Bapi chain of biryani shops, said he received calls from different numbers demanding ₹20 lakh.

The calls were followed by messages on WhatsApp reminding him about the fate of Mandal, who had received threats.