India: Mahila Cong worker accuses BJP of extortion

Agartala, Jun 3 (PTI) A Mahila Congress worker from South Chandrapur village here, filed a complaint with the East Agartala Police Station on Monday saying that she has received extortion notices along with many others in the locality.

"I am a Mahila Congress worker.My family and I are being constantly threatened and attacked after since the results of the parliamentary elections were announced. Today, a letter was found in my house. The BJP and its workers, through the letter, demanded Rs 20,000 from my family, as extortion money," Rupa Dey told reporters.

The Mahila Congress worker said that she has been away from her home since May 23 because her family has been under threat from BJP workers.

The officer-in-charge of East Agartala Police Station, Manik Debnath, confirmed that an FIR was registered on Monday.

"We have received a complaint from Chandrapur area.

These extortion notices were served to at least seven to eight people. We are investigating the matter," the police officer said.

Reacting to the complaint, BJP state spokesperson Nabendu Bhattacharya said, "We don't extort money from anyone because this is beyond the ethics of our party. There are also rules for collecting subscription. We have information that many people are posing as BJP workers to extort money."

Tripura Chief Minister and BJP state president Biplab Kumar Deb on several occasions earlier had said that police would take stern action in such cases.