Kolkata, 01 October (H.S.): Former state minister Snehasis Chakraborty is facing mounting legal troubles over serious allegations of securing loans worth lakhs from an agricultural cooperative society despite not being a farmer. The Anti-Corruption Commission, headed by former Calcutta High Court judge Justice Biswajit Basu, has formally initiated an investigation into the matter, which involves a loan of Rs 85 lakh taken in Chakraborty's name and an additional Rs 10 lakh in the name of a relative from the Singti Agricultural Cooperative Society in Jangipara.

The controversy came to light after Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh raised pointed questions targeting Chakraborty, who is widely considered to be aligned with the Ritabrata Banerjee faction. Ghosh categorically highlighted that the rules governing agricultural cooperative societies strictly prohibit the disbursement of loans to non-farmers. He questioned how and on what grounds the former minister managed to secure such a massive loan by allegedly bypassing established regulations. Furthermore, Ghosh demanded to know whether the loan, which was acquired during Chakraborty's tenure as a minister, had been repaid, and if so, what the legitimate source of such a large sum was. The Kalighat-loyalist MLA directly accused Chakraborty of misusing his influential political position to misappropriate the funds.

Following the public exposure of the alleged scam, the local administration took prompt action by arresting the cooperative society's manager, Swapan Patra, and another employee, Ramesh Patra, on charges of financial irregularities. With the Anti-Corruption Commission now taking charge of the investigation to uncover the depths of the episode, sources indicate that commission members will soon visit Singti to officially seize all relevant financial and administrative documents from the cooperative society's office.

It is noteworthy that upon assuming power, the new state government had pledged to take stringent measures against graft, asserting that all corruption allegations surfacing from the 15-year tenure of the previous Trinamool Congress administration would be subjected to intensive scrutiny. The special Anti-Corruption Commission was constituted specifically to fulfill this mandate. According to a notification issued by the state secretariat, 'Nabanna', the commission is authorized to investigate alleged irregularities across various sectors, including the Amphan relief fund, Mid-Day Meal scheme, health, and education departments, spanning from 2011 to May 2026. While the commission itself does not function as a direct investigative agency, it holds the authority to direct the police to register a First Information Report (FIR) immediately upon discovering credible evidence of corruption. The notification also explicitly clarified that the commission will not intervene in matters that are already under investigation by the ED, CBI, or any other central investigative agency.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh