Villagers in Bengal get back cut money allegedly paid to toughs 'owing allegiance to TMC'

Mathabhanga/Namkhana (WB): Several people in Cooch Behar and South 24 Parganas districts have got back the "cut money" they paid to local toughs for availing the benefits of government schemes during the previous TMC regime.

The Cooch Behar district TMC leadership said the party does not have anything to do with such illegal collection of money from villagers or traders.

After the BJP came to power in the state, the demand for the return of "cut money" allegedly taken by local toughs owing allegiance to the TMC increased in different places of Mathabhanga in Cooch Behar, and the perpetrators returned at least some of the money.

At Subhaspalli area in Mathabhanga town, 14 recipients of housing scheme funds were given back the commission taken from them, according to locals.

"Some of them offered puja at the local temple after receiving back the money on Monday," a local BJP leader said.

At Pachagarh panchayat's Fakirerkuthi village under Mathabhanga subdivision, several people got their money back in cash on Sunday.

The villagers and traders claimed they had to pay the "cut money" to local toughs after the TMC won the 2021 assembly elections, either to receive funds under the Awas Yojana or for buying or selling lands or houses or for doing business.

Local BJP leader Surendra Barman alleged that the villagers were forced to pay, or else they would be denied the benefits from government welfare schemes or prevented from buying or selling land.

"Some of the money was returned to the villagers on Sunday," he said.

At Ghughumari in Cooch Behar's Mathabhanga subdivision, announcements were made through loudspeakers from a rickshaw that the commission taken from villagers who applied for housing under the Awas Yojana in one locality would be returned from the panchayat member's residence on June 4.

"People are requested to come and receive their money back," one person was heard saying in a video, the authenticity of which has not been independently verified by PTI.

Asserting that the affected people could not talk openly about it out of fear during the TMC rule, local BJP leader Joy Pal said that with the change of guard, the sufferers have gathered courage and are openly alleging they were forced to pay a percentage of the money they received under the Awas Yojana.

"The villagers who received funds under the Awas Yojana were threatened that the next tranche of money would not be released to them if they did not pay sums of around Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 each," he said.

A district TMC leader denied that the party endorsed any such collection of funds from people and that it has nothing to do with such illegal collection of money.

In another such incident, a TMC panchayat member returned Rs 5,000 each to 45 villagers at Patibunia village in Namkhana area of South 24 Parganas district.

Bikas Mondal, one of the affected villagers, said that after getting the first tranche of the Awaas Yojana funds of Rs 60,000, he built a part of a house, when he was asked to pay Rs 5,000 to the panchayat member or else the second tranche would not be transferred to his bank account.

He claimed that owing to similar threats, a total of 45 villagers had paid Rs 5,000 each for getting the second tranche of their Awaas Yojana benefit.

"On Sunday, we were called to the local school ground and the money was returned to all of us," Mondal said.