A bakery owner in Malda has lodged a police complaint, accusing Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury, the chairman of Trinamul-run Englishbazar municipality, of “illegally demolishing his property”.

Businessman Debasish Saha has also sent copies of the complaint to the chief minister’s office and state urban development and municipal affairs minister Firhad Hakim, seeking their intervention.

Saha, who had a hotel and now a bakery, said a case is pending in court over the property's ownership.

“I have been threatened by henchmen of the civic chairman so that they can grab the land. Recently, the civic body demolished a portion of the rear side of the property. I have received several phone calls and was advised to sit with the civic chairman to settle the ownership issue though the matter is in court," Saha alleged.

The property — a two-storey commercial building on a 2,880sqft plot in Rabindra Avenue — has been in their possession for over five decades now, Saha's family members claimed.

Saha was “illegally” enjoying Choudhury's ancestral property, the latter claimed.

“It is our ancestral property. Earlier, my forefathers looked after it. After their demise, I have the responsibility to look after the property.... A case is pending over ownership in court. But some people have conspired to malign me,” said Choudhury, the civic head and also a former MLA and former state minister.

Police refrained from any official comment. But a senior official said they were probing both charges.

District BJP leaders said the police should be impartial. Amlan Bhaduri, a district BJP general secretary, said Saha should not be harassed.