Jharkhand lawyer held in Kolkata, Rs 50 lakh seized from him

Kolkata: A Ranchi-based lawyer has been arrested from a shopping mall in the central part of the city for his alleged involvement in a fraud case, a senior officer of Kolkata Police said.

Police also seized cash amounting to around Rs 50 lakh from the possession of the accused, identified as a lawyer of the Jharkhand High Court, he said.

Kumar was arrested from Quest Mall in the central part of the city on Sunday. We have seized Rs 50 lakh in cash from him," a senior officer of the Kolkata Police's Detective Department (DD) said.

According to another police officer, Kumar had filed a PIL in Jharkhand High Court against a city-based businessman and had been blackmailing him for money.

"The lawyer had demanded Rs 10 crore from the businessman to withdraw the PIL. He later reduced his demand to Rs 4 crore. After several negotiations, the lawyer finally agreed to settle the matter at Rs 1 crore, the officer said.

"It seems that the arrested person had come here to collect the money. The seized amount is a part of the demand he had made," the officer said said, adding that the accused lawyer was with his son at the time of his arrest.

The lawyer is known to have filed several public interest litigations over the years, one of which is reportedly against Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren for alleged irregularities in a mining case.

Complaints have been filed against him in various Jharkhand police stations for allegedly blackmailing people and duping people of lakhs of rupees.

Members associated with Advocates Association of the Jharkhand High Court, meanwhile, abstained from work on Monday in protest against the arrest.