Cash, gold, 242 vehicles: Bengal CM Links Rs 15,000 Cr Birbhum racket to Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday alleged an around Rs 15,000 crore revenue leak in Birbhum district over the past 15 years, and said it would not have been possible without the support of the previous Mamata Banerjee dispensation.

Addressing a press conference at the state secretariat here, Adhikari claimed the racket, centred around absconding stone trader Mohammad Nazibuddin alias Tullu Mondal, could not have operated for years without political patronage and institutional support.

Multiple government departments were either complicit or remained silent on the directions from the "highest level", he alleged.

"It is impossible for such a large racket to have operated for so long without the support of former chief minister Mamata Banerjee," Adhikari alleged and flagged that Mondal had accumulated 242 vehicles and 300 bighas of land over the years.

His allegations came against the backdrop of police recovering Rs 28.5 crore in cash and 15 kg of gold from Mondal's residence in West Bengal's Birbhum as part of a wider crackdown against alleged illegal mining and revenue leakages in the district.

Police suspect a substantial portion of the cash represented revenue allegedly siphoned off. The district has for long been under the scanner over allegations of illegal quarrying and organised crime linked to stone trade.

Targeting his predecessor Mamata Banerjee, Adhikari said, "An organised racket siphoning off revenue for years... cannot function without the concurrence of the head of the institution."

"If directions did not come from the highest level, no one would take a look at Mondal. Officials were forced to keep their eyes closed. As the then head of the government, the ultimate responsibility lies with the former chief minister," he told the press conference.

Adhikari said, "Institutional corruption happens only when the head of the institution encourages corruption."

"I had been saying that while Rs 100 crore went to the government treasury, Rs 1,100 crore was being siphoned off." He said that money could have been used to build hospitals, schools and for creating employment for lakhs of youths.

Contrasting the previous dispensation's performance with that of his government, Adhikari said while annual revenue from the stone sector during the earlier regime was between Rs 60 crore and Rs 80 crore, the state earned Rs 83 crore between May and June this year, soon after the BJP came to power.

He said the monthly revenue generation was now approaching Rs 100 crore.

The chief minister said ongoing crackdown against alleged illegal mining and revenue leakages had resulted in the recovery and attachment of substantial assets linked to Mondal and his associates.

According to him, Rs 28.5 crore in cash and 15 kg of gold worth around Rs 50 crore were recovered from Mondal's residence. Police also seized Rs 53 lakh in cash besides silver and platinum jewellery during subsequent raids.

Bank accounts containing Rs 93 crore have been frozen, Adhikari said.

Investigators have traced 21 properties, including seven houses, one farmhouse, two petrol pumps, three stone mines, two crushers, a parking facility and nearly 300 bighas of land, all of which are under the process of seizure, the chief minister informed reporters.

Adhikari said authorities have also identified and seized 242 vehicles, including trucks, dumpers and luxury cars.

He estimated that assets worth around Rs 150 crore, including cash, gold, jewellery and other properties, had already been seized and would be auctioned in accordance with the law.

Citing inputs from the Finance Department, the chief minister said the state's revenue has increased by 12 per cent over the corresponding period last year within 11 weeks of the new BJP assuming office and hoped for a 20 per cent increase by the end of the current financial year.

He praised the Birbhum police and the director general of police for their tireless effort in dismantling the racket.

Mondal is believed to have fled the country, while several of his close associates, including his "accountant" Pinaki De, "assistant accountant" Rakibul Islam and petrol pump manager Kausar, have been detained, the chief minister said

He refrained from commenting on the arrest of a suspected Jaish-e-Mohammed member from Burdwan as the matter was "very sensitive".

"This is an extremely sensitive matter. There are international links. It concerns national security. The STF is investigating the case and examining the information recovered from his mobile phone and other electronic devices," he told reporters.