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Jharkhand-based lawyer arrested in Kolkata with ₹50 lakh
The accused, Rajiv Kumar, is a practising lawyer of the Jharkhand High Court, with a reputation of filing PILs
The Kolkata Police arrested a Jharkhand-based lawyer on charges of blackmailing a city-based businessman from whom the accused had allegedly demanded ₹10 crore to withdraw a PIL, officials said.
The accused, Rajiv Kumar, is a practicing lawyer of the Jharkhand High Court, with a reputation of filing PILs. He is currently the counsel for two PILs filed by Shiv Shankar Sharma against Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren seeking a CBI probe in connection with his mining lease and alleged shell companies operated by his associates.
He is also the lawyer for petitioner Arun Kumar Dubey related to the MNREGA scam in which the ED has arrested suspended mines secretary Pooja Singhal.
“Kumar was arrested from a shopping mall in central Kolkata. An amount of ₹50 lakh was seized from him. The accused had filed a PIL against a Kolkata-based businessman in the Ranchi high court. Initially, he had demanded ₹10 crore from the businessman to withdraw the PIL. After negotiations he reduced the amount to ₹4 crore and then finally settled at ₹1 crore,” said a senior officer of the Kolkata Police’s detective department.
He had come down to Kolkata to allegedly collect the first instalment of ₹50 lakh. He was caught with the money from a shopping mall on Sunday, police said.
“Kumar had threatened the businessman that he had connections with central agencies and could get his house and office raided,” said a police officer.
Kumar’s son, Abhit Kumar, who was also with his father when the police nabbed him said the lawyer has been falsely accused.
“We were at a shopping mall. A group of men caught my father soon after one person handed over a packet to him. They are not even telling me in which case he has been arrested. We are in the process of moving the Kolkata High Court for his bail,” said Abhit over phone.
On Saturday, the West Bengal police had seized ₹49 lakh from a vehicle in which three Jharkhand legislators were travelling. They were arrested on Sunday.
