Overview
- The Dinhata Sub-Divisional Court produced Udayan Guha and ordered short-term police custody on Thursday, with reports citing six to seven days for custodial interrogation.
- Prosecutors and police say the case centers on alleged illegal collections from about 2,200 beneficiaries that total roughly ₹4–4.5 crore linked to a local 'housing for all' scheme.
- The probe began after florist Gopal Saha filed a June 11 complaint saying he paid about ₹43,000 to secure a house, and investigators say several similar complaints followed.
- Guha was arrested from his Phoolbagan residence in Kolkata and his court appearance in Dinhata drew angry crowds who pelted the prison van with eggs and slippers while a large security force guarded the area.
- Police say the inquiry has broadened to include alleged extortion tied to a paediatric ICU project at the Dinhata hospital and a separate fake building-plans case in which some arrests have already been made, and Guha’s arrest is the latest of several actions involving former ministers from the previous state government.