Ex-Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakims former OSD arrested in warehouse collapse case

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Kolkata, Jun 25 (PTI) The police on Thursday arrested Kalicharan Bandyopadhyay, former Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to former city mayor Firhad Hakim, in connection with the warehouse collapse case that left 11 people dead, an officer said.

The arrest came hours after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari made certain remarks in the Assembly against an individual, apparently referring to the former OSD.

Bandyopadhyay, popularly known as “Kali”, was detained by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the evening and formally arrested later after questioning, a senior police officer said, adding that he will be produced before a court on Friday.

“Kalicharan Bandyopadhyay has been arrested in connection with the ongoing investigation into the Taratala

warehouse collapse case. He was questioned by the SIT before being arrested. The investigation is continuing,” a senior police officer said.

Without naming him directly, the chief minister alleged that no building plan in the civic body could be cleared without the approval of a person known as “Kali”.

The case evolved from the collapse of the roof of a warehouse under construction in Taratala, following which investigators began probing possible irregularities in the approval and execution of the project.

A state government employee, Bandyopadhyay, had earlier served in the West Bengal Police before joining the administrative service. He became associated with the KMC after Firhad Hakim, a senior TMC leader, took over as mayor following the resignation of Sovan Chatterjee in late 2018.

Besides serving as Hakim’s OSD, Bandyopadhyay was also the controlling officer for MPs’ Local Area Development funds and MLAs’ area development schemes.

“The SIT officers are examining his role in the approval process related to the structure that collapsed,” he said, adding that Bandyopadhyay was regarded as an influential functionary within the civic body and played a key role in matters related to construction clearances. PTI SCH NN