Contractors accuse former Falta TMC candidate Jahangir Khan of taking cut money for work orders

Kolkata: Less than an hour after TMC’s Falta candidate Jahangir Khan announced his decision to withdraw from the Assembly repoll fray on Tuesday, civil contractors accused the leader of extorting cut money from them in exchange for work orders.

Holding posters aloft, a group of contractors protested outside South 24 Parganas Zilla Parishad's PWD and Road Transport office. Khan is the Karmadhakshya (chairperson) of these two wings.

The contractors claimed that commissions between seven and 10 per cent had to be paid to Khan's personal assistant to execute work orders for various projects.

They further alleged that crores of rupees had collectively been paid as cut money for various work projects and demanded that the money be returned.

Earlier in the day, Khan, a TMC leader who was alleged to have run political and administrative affairs in the region with strong arms, announced his decision to dissociate himself from the Falta repoll, less than 48 hours ahead of the scheduled elections on May 21.

Khan has recently been at the centre of controversy over alleged poll irregularities and intimidation during the recently-concluded assembly elections in the Falta segment, leading to a court battle and a subsequent countermanding of elections ordered by the Election Commission in the entire seat.

The contractors' accusations came after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari called upon people to lodge complaints against those involved in extortion and collection of cut money, assuring them that action would be taken against the guilty.

Khan denied any wrongdoing, alleging he was being framed for political reasons.

The issue of alleged cut money in government projects and contracts has remained a politically sensitive issue in Bengal over the years, with opposition parties repeatedly accusing sections of local TMC leaders of extortion and corruption.