Howrah, 9 July (H.S.): In a significant move, the Howrah Police Commissionerate has dismissed a trainee home guard from government service over serious allegations of extortion. The accused, Barun Das, is the husband of Sonali Das, the chairperson of the Sankrail Panchayat Samiti and a leader of the Trinamool Congress. The official dismissal order was issued on Tuesday night.

According to police sources, Barun Das was involved in forcibly collecting money from individuals undertaking construction work in Sankrail area. Despite being assigned night duty for guarding local religious establishments, Barun allegedly spent his daytime extorting money from locals.

Several videos of Barun Das went viral on social media. In one of the videos, he is seen sitting on a motorcycle in front of an under-construction building, engaging in a heated argument with the landowner.

The Police confirmed that multiple complaints of extortion had been lodged against Barun. Once these complaints reached senior officials, the Commissionerate issued a formal order to Sankrail police station to immediately and permanently terminate Barun Das from his position.

The dismissal order stated that Barun was frequently absent from his official duties and misused his government position for personal gain by harassing citizens.

Reacting to the development, BJP leader Manoj Pandey said, “You’ll find many Barun Das-like individuals in every Panchayat of the state. This is not an isolated incident. Sankrail is just one example. If a sincere investigation is carried out, many such names will surface.”

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey