I-T dept targeted MLA Jakir Hossain as he’s from Trinamool: Mamata Banerjee

An amount of Rs 11 crore in cash was seized from at least 20 properties linked to Hossain in Kolkata, New Delhi and Murshidabad during the I-T raids on January 11 and 12.

“Jakir is a bidi industrialist. Around 20,000 people work for him. Will he be paying them through bank transactions? How many bidi workers have bank accounts? “Jakir is facing this situation because he is a TMC worker. Central agencies are selectively targeting TMC leaders. There were attempts to kill Jakir. A conspiracy is being hatched against him,” Banerjee said.

Banerjee was addressing an administrative review meeting at Sagardighi in Murshidabad district.Hossain had earlier claimed that the seized money was meant for paying salaries of his employees.

In an apparent reference to Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, who was looking after party affairs in Murshidabad when he was with the Trinamool Congress, she said, “It’s my bad luck that someone who was entrusted with the responsibility of this district is now selectively directing central agencies to the homes of
TMC leaders.”

With PTI inputs