A hotel owner allegedly died of a massive heart attack here on Monday after he received a threat call from a Trinamool Congress (TMC) worker, who threatened him with dire consequences if a police complaint against the latter was not withdrawn.
Sumit Naha, the hotel owner, had been complaining of extortion against Trinamool worker Dipak Sau, who was a regular visitor to Mr. Naha’s hotel, Bridge Lodge.
Mr. Naha’s family members alleged that Mr. Sau demanded that a room be booked for him at the hotel at all times, which was used to host illegal activities throughout the night.
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Mr. Sau was also believed to be extorting money from the hotel’s cash box and the hotel manager, Ashish Manna, had to keep Mr. Sau updated with the hotel’s expenses. Mr. Naha’s family alleged that no action was taken despite registering complaints at Golabari police station.
Seeking to end Mr. Sau’s reign of terror on the hotel management, Mr. Manna decided to protest him. However, situations worsened on the night of June 20 when Mr. Sau came over to the hotel and beat up Mr. Manna. The entire episode was recorded in the hotel’s surveillance cameras.
Backed with crucial evidence, Mr. Naha registered another complaint at Golabari police station against Mr. Sau. In the wee hours of June 21, Mr. Naha started getting calls mounting pressure on him to withdraw the case, alleged his family. He was even issued death threats. The calls were allegedly made by Riyaz Ahmed, another Trinamool Congress worker. Soon after the calls, Mr. Naha suffered a massive heart attack and died immediately.
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Although the police are probing the case with the help of the CCTV footage, they denied receiving any complaint from Mr. Naha against Mr. Sau. The TMC has reportedly denied the charges and said Mr. Sau and Mr. Ahmed are not associated with the party.