A contractor from Ramchandraghat under Khowai district has alleged that he was brutally assaulted and an attempt was made on his life after he refused to pay Rs 10 lakh in extortion money. The incident reportedly took place in front of Dwarikapur School under Kalyanpur police station.
The contractor, Subhash Rishidas, alleged that a group of miscreants, reportedly led by Samir Chowdhury, had been demanding Rs 10 lakh from him in connection with his work.
According to Subhash, he had received a contract from the Public Works Department for carrying out boulder-making work in the Dwarikapur area under Kalyanpur police station. He claimed that for the past one-and-a-half months, he had been facing demands to pay Rs 10 lakh while the work was underway.
The alleged attack took place at around 4 pm last Sunday, when Subhash was returning home from the worksite. He alleged that a group of around 10 to 12 people, armed with sticks and other weapons, intercepted him in front of Dwarikapur School and assaulted him.
Subhash identified several of the attackers as Pulakesh Dhupi alias Abu, Papon Sarkar, Pritam Shukla Das, Biswajit Ghosh and Bapi Raut, while he said he could not identify the others.
He further alleged that even after police reached the spot, the attackers continued to assault him and threatened that he would not be allowed to continue the work unless he paid the demanded Rs 10 lakh.
There were also allegations that the attackers damaged around eight mobile phones belonging to local residents who were attempting to record the incident.
Seriously injured in the alleged assault, Subhash reportedly approached the court on Tuesday and initiated legal proceedings against those accused in the incident.
The allegations have also raised questions over the role of the police, while local residents are awaiting further action from the police and administration.
The exact circumstances surrounding the incident and the allegations of extortion and assault are subject to investigation.