Kolkata, Sep 5 — A team of the judicial inquiry commission constituted by the West Bengal government to investigate alleged institutional corruption during the previous Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress regime on Saturday conducted a search at the residence of former Trinamool Congress councillor Alakananda Das in connection with a disproportionate assets case.
Officials of the inquiry panel, headed by retired Calcutta High Court judge Justice Biswajit Basu, reached Das's residence in Beliaghata in central Kolkata during the afternoon as part of their investigation.
Das, a former councillor of Ward No 34 of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), is facing allegations of possessing assets disproportionate to her known sources of income. Investigators are examining the origin of the assets and whether they were acquired through corrupt means or have links to alleged irregularities during the previous state administration.
The development comes days after commission officials visited the premises of ‘Hakim Polymaker’ and ‘Hakim Chemicals’, businesses owned by former KMC Mayor and former State Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim, on September 3. The visits were aimed at examining any possible links between the firms and alleged corruption.
It is learnt that ‘Hakim Polymaker’ is primarily a plastic manufacturing firm, while ‘Hakim Chemicals’ produces chemical products. The inquiry commission visited these premises to determine if there was any connection to corruption.
Firhad Hakim retained his Kolkata Port Assembly constituency in the West Bengal elections held earlier this year, winning the seat for the fourth consecutive term. He defeated Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Rakesh Singh by a margin of more than 56,000 votes, despite the Trinamool Congress suffering a major defeat in the state.
On July 14, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced the formation of a judicial commission to investigate various allegations of institutional corruption during the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government between 2011 and 2026.
The commission is headed by former Calcutta High Court judge Justice Biswajit Basu (retired), and the investigation is being conducted under the supervision of a senior Indian Police Service officer.
The administrative work of the commission is being handled by an Indian Administrative Service officer, while a West Bengal Revenue Service officer is responsible for its technical aspects.