A local court in Barrackpore, West Bengal, framed prima facie charges on Wednesday against nine people, including notorious criminal from Bihar Subodh Singh, with “substantial evidence” to date against three in connection with the attempted murder of businessman Ajoy Mondal.
A total of 12 people had been named in the FIR, out of which three have not been named in the chargesheet. Five of the convicts are from Bihar, while four are from Jharkhand.
The incident occurred on June 15, 2024, when Mondal was allegedly shot near a petrol pump in Rathtala. He filed a police complaint on the same day. The chargesheet, filed by the Barrackpore police, alleges that Mondal had been receiving threats and extortion demands from Sahjada, a local criminal, and his associates, allegedly including Subodh Singh. Despite allegedly paying Rs 10,00,000 to Sahjada, the threats continued, allegedly culminating in the attempted murder.
The police investigation revealed that Subodh Singh, who was lodged in Beur Jail in Bihar at the time, allegedly orchestrated the attack using his network of associates. Mondal in his complaint alleged that the assailants came to his house, claiming that Subodh Singh, who “operates a shooter gang from jail”, needed money.
In the due course of trials, 60 witnesses will be examined. Testimonies will begin on January 13.
The accused are Altaf Raja (22) of Saran, Bihar, Sahil Kumar Singh alias Vivek Kumar (18) of Chapra, Bihar, Subodh Singh of Nalanda, Bihar, Roshan Kumar Yadav alias Tatya of Baishali, Bihar, Uttam Kumar (32) of Jharkhand, Rishu Kumar Pandey (22) of Jharkhand, Vivek Kumar (20) of Jharkhand, Pankaj Kumar Sharma (34) of Jharkhand and Sashibhusan Prasad alias Pintu (40) of Jharkhand.
“Sufficient evidence” was found against Sahil Kumar, Rahul Kumar, and Ankit Kumar, the court said.
Subodh Singh, who was not physically produced in court due to illness, has denied any involvement in the crime. However, the prosecution claims to have substantial evidence, including WhatsApp chats and call records, linking him to the conspiracy.
On June 24, the police submitted a request to the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) for a production warrant for Subodh Singh. This request was granted. Later that day, the complainant produced an 8GB USB flash drive containing voice recordings of threats allegedly made by Subodh Singh over WhatsApp calls, which were duly seized.
“Subodh Singh had been engaging in a pattern of threatening and extorting money from businessmen, many of whom were too intimidated to file complaints. He was openly challenging the police authorities, thus posing a significant threat to law and order. One instance involved the witness, Tapas Bhagat, who filed a case at Titagarh PS after being threatened by Subodh Singh,” read the chargesheet submitted to the court by Special Public Prosecutor Bivas Chatterjee.
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