The West Bengal CID has seized a large number of state government documents including arms license applications and sealed bottles of alcohol during the two-day search operation in different properties, admitted to be of a retired IPS officer, a senior CID official said on Thursday.
Though the name of the former IPS officer was not mentioned, seizure of documents related to West Midnapore district certainly points towards its former police chief Bharati Ghosh, who sought voluntary retirement last month after being transferred to a less significant post as commandant of the State Armed Police's Third Battalion.
"Searches were conducted yesterday and today (Wednesday and Thursday) in different properties admitted to be of a retired IPS officer. Several government files and government documents of West Midnapore district including a large number of arms license applications and verification roles of different candidates applying for employment were seized in the two day operation," Deputy Inspector General, CID, Nishad Parvez said in a release.
"(As many as) 57 sealed bottles of alcoholic drinks were also seized today totaling 39 litres. Excise Department would be intimated about the same," he said.
Stating that the raids would continue, the officer said different CID teams have been propositioned in different parts of India to conduct search operations.
Parvez also said all the CID officers involved in the raid went through thorough personal search of themselves by others before entering the flats and that the entire search operation was videographed.
The CID earlier seized Rs. 2.4 crore in cash from one of the three flats in Kolkata's Madurdaha, suspected to be owned by Ghosh.
The raids by CID sleuths started after a case of extortion and criminal conspiracy was lodged in West Midnapore district's Daspur on February 1 after a gold trader named Chandan Majhi complained against some police officers in the district thought to be close to former SP Ghosh.
A voice message, purportedly from Ghosh, surfaced a few days back in social media claiming that her south Kolkata residence was also raided without proper search warrant while her husband was kept locked in a room. The message further stated that Ghosh, currently not in Kolkata, would take legal action against the raiders on her return.
Ghosh, once a favourite of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, reportedly fell from grace and sought voluntary retirement which was accepted by the state government in December. There are rumors that she might join the Bharatiya Janata Party.
--IANS
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