A promoter was allegedly beaten up and hit with the butt of a pistol on Sunday by a group led by a Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) councillor near the site in Baguiati where he is constructing a multi-storey building.

The promoter, Kishor Halder, alleged that Samaresh Chakraborty, the Trinamool councillor of Ward 9 (located in Baguiati), had demanded Rs 50 lakh as protection money.

The Telegraph called Chakraborty several times on Sunday but he did not answer. He also did not reply to a text message from this newspaper.

According to Halder, he has all the permits issued by the civic body to construct the building.

“I had earlier paid Chakraborty ₹20 lakh. I paid Rs 3 lakh a couple of months back. But Chakraborty and his men kept harassing and threatened to stop work at the site,” Halder said.

He alleged that Chakraborty and a group of men arrived at the construction site on Sunday, beat him up and then hit him on his head with a pistol butt.

A bleeding Halder reached Baguiati police station and lodged a complaint against the councillor and his alleged associates.

Halder said Chakraborty had been extorting money from promoters for a long time. He said he had kept quiet and even paid Chakraborty ₹23 lakh as he, too, was a Trinamool worker.

“Initially, I had acceded to Chakraborty’s demands as I did not want to escalate the matter. But now I will write to the chief minister and other party leaders seeking their intervention. I had paid ₹1 lakh for Kali Puja. I have video proof of Chakraborty’s demands and the assault,” Halder said.

His wife Debosree said: “I fear for the safety of my husband and our two small kids. We want the police and the chief minister to intervene.”

An officer in the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate said Suvendu Mondal, one of the men named in the complaint, has been arrested.

The BMC mayor, Krishna Chakraborty, said the councillor would not be spared if the allegations were found to be true.