BJD sarpanch of Khuntakata panchayat in Athagarh sub-division Rajesh Naik, who was arrested by the Kolkata police on Monday last, has constructed a mansion at Narayan Vihar in the laxmanpur area near Jagatpur with money extorted in West Bengal, investigations by the Kolkata police have revealed.
Naik, who ran a criminal network in West Bengal, has constructed the building at an estimated cost of `2 crore on a piece of land purchased from a builder, sources in West Bengal police said. The mansion was a meeting place for criminals from West Bengal and Odisha, besides some high-profile political leaders of Odisha who used to visit the building at regular intervals, they said. Surprisingly, the Cuttack Commissionerate police have not yet raided the palatial building, leave alone investigating into Naik’s arrest.
While the Commissionerate police have said they are waiting for a response from their Kolkata counterparts, it is most likely that the documents relating to Naik’s criminal activities could have been either destroyed or taken away by his associates.
The Kolkata police tracked down Naik in connection with an incident of killing by Naik’s brother Abhay after a group of rival gang members attacked his sister in Kolkata on November 16.
The police later arrested Abhay and his sister Rakhi. On the basis of the information given by the arrested duo, the police arrested Rajesh on December 9 from his residence at Khuntakata without the knowledge of the local police. The police later took him on remand for interrogation.
During the interrogation, the police have come to know that apart from his palatial building at Jagatpur, Rajesh also owns two hotels at Puri, besides about 30 acres of land in Odisha and Bengal. Besides, the police have found his two bank accounts in Cuttack and Kolkata.
Apart from this, Rajesh has also extorted over crores of rupees from several cashew farms and bars and hotels in Odisha and Kolkata. He has 57 criminal cases, including 14 cases of murder, the Kolkata police informed.