Kolkata, Oct 1 (IANS) A judicial inquiry commission constituted by the West Bengal government to investigate alleged institutional corruption during the previous Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress regime has started an investigation against former West Bengal Transport Minister Snehasis Chakraborty.
The investigation relates to allegations that, despite not being a farmer, Chakraborty obtained a loan of Rs 85 lakh from an agricultural cooperative society in the state during the previous regime.
It is also alleged that he facilitated another loan for one of his relatives from the same agricultural cooperative society by using his influence as a then state Cabinet minister and ruling party legislator.
Chakraborty, a three-time Trinamool Congress legislator from the Jangipara Assembly constituency in Hooghly district between 2011 and 2026, was defeated in the Assembly elections earlier this year by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Prosenjit Bag by less than 1,000 votes.
He is currently associated with the Ritabrata Banerjee-led “rebel but majority” faction in Trinamool Congress.
Trinamool Congress legislator Kunal Ghosh, from the Beliaghata Assembly constituency in Kolkata, first alleged the loan from the agricultural cooperative society.
Kunal Ghosh is associated with the “original but minority” faction of Trinamool, led by former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee.
Kunal Ghosh alleged that although only farmers were eligible to receive loans from agricultural cooperative societies, Chakraborty secured a loan from the Singti Agricultural Cooperative Society by posing as a farmer, violating lending norms.
He also questioned whether Chakraborty had been repaying the loan from the Singti Agricultural Cooperative Society.
After Kunal Ghosh flagged the issue, society employees Swapan Patra and activist Ramesh Patra were arrested.
The state government-appointed judicial panel has now begun investigating the matter.
According to sources, the panel will soon collect relevant documents from the cooperative society.
On July 14, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced the formation of a judicial commission to investigate allegations of institutional corruption during the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government between 2011 and 2026.
Former Calcutta High Court judge Justice Biswajit Basu (Retd) heads the commission.
A senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer is supervising the investigation.
An Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer is handling the commission’s administrative work, while a West Bengal Revenue Service officer oversees its technical aspects.
–IANS
src/dan
