The arrest of Sangeetha Chatterjee, the Kolkata-based model-turned-red sanders smuggling operative, in Kolkata has ended an year-long stalemate, after she went absconding in March last year.
Ms. Chatterjee (26) allegedly developed intimacy with Markondus Lakshmanan (40), a Chennai-based red sanders smuggler, settled in Kolkata (who was arrested in February 2016), and they reportedly got married two years ago. She had allegedly assisted Lakshmanan in carrying out the financial transactions and maintaining links with international smuggling networks. She is facing two cases relating to red sanders smuggling in Chittoor district. After Lakshmanan’s arrest, Ms .Chatterjee’s role came to the fore during interrogation in February last year. Though the Chittoor police made frantic efforts to arrest her, they did not materialise, as she obtained interim bails from West Bengal courts. Though she was directed by the courts there to appear before the Chittoor court, she avoided coming here three times last year between April and May. This led to the issuance of a non-bailable warrant by a Chittoor court against the model six months ago.
How she was traced
During this period, special parties went to Kolkata nearly half a dozen times, but in vain. However, the searches resulted in the seizure of huge quantum of gold ornaments worth several crores, and freezing of her bank accounts in Kolkata.
A special party led by Deputy SP, Giridhar Rao, and Chittoor Circle-Inspector (West Rural) Adinarayana, left for Kolkata two weeks ago, based on specific information about Ms. Chatterjee’s movements there. A source said that though Ms. Chatterjee kept changing her sim-cards and mobiles frequently, somehow the police traced one particular number which she kept using at regular intervals. Surveillance on the bank transactions of the model’s family members and one of her attendants led to further information about her whereabouts.
Lakshmanan, now in Kadapa Central jail, had also allegedly arranged some hefty amount into her family members’ accounts.
Finally, the police traced her to a populous locality in Kasba in south Kolkata. When the police were moving right in front of her residence in plainclothes, she was reportedly relaxing in the balcony. Seeing the strangers, including a woman, Sangeetha instantly realised that time had come for her arrest. Without any resistance, she prepared to accompany the police team. “She knew she had troubled us very much since a year. Her gestures showed she too was prepared to face the consequences,” a senior police officer said, adding that steps were already on from her side to file bail petitions in court concerned here.
The Chittoor police immediately processed her transit by meeting the higher police officials of the area concerned in Kolkata. Ms. Chatterjee’s parents were also informed about her arrest and transit to Chittoor.
The police are of the view that Ms. Chatterjee's arrest would definitely help gather vital information about the global red sanders smuggling network, hawala transactions, and kingpins on the domestic and overseas fronts.
