The Bhowanipore building in which Bharat Bhayani has a flat. Picture by Sanat Kumar Sinha

If electronics retailer Serajul Haque was the victim of an extortion network run from behind bars, wholesaler Bharat Bhayani got trapped in a racket operating from the local CPM office.

When Bhayani bought an apartment in Bhowanipore a month ago and decided to do it up, a CPM member and two leaders of the party’s youth wing turned up to demand the contract for supply of materials or Rs 1 lakh.

The businessman refused, leading to raids on his apartment by goons allegedly hired by the trio four times in the past few weeks. After he went to police on Saturday, the accused — Bijoy Puhan, a member of the CPM committee in ward number 70, DYFI leaders Shakir Ahmed and Sanjay Hui, and an accomplice, Boltu — were arrested and freed on bail in a span of a few hours.

“The nature of the offence comes under the bailable category; so we released them on bail,” Badal Maity, the officer-in-charge of Bhowanipore police station, told Metro on Tuesday.

Bhayani said goons raided his Roy Street apartment around seven days after he engaged workers of his choice to do the interior decoration. “They entered my apartment and told the workers to inform me that I should contact the CPM’s local party office immediately. I did not pay any heed to it,” he recalled.

The goons visited the apartment again a few days later and threatened the workers that time. “They claimed that the interiors of the flat were being done up in violation of corporation rules. On coming to know about it, I wrote to the executive engineer of the building department, Borough VIII, informing him about the progress of work till August 8,” the businessman said.

The workers showed a copy of the letter to the group when they raided the apartment a third time, again in Bhayani’s absence.

“I met them for the first time only last week. They asked me whether I had engaged workers to do up the flat. When I nodded, they surrounded me and insisted that I purchase the required materials from them. I refused and they gave the option of paying Rs 1 lakh. I told them that I did not have so much money and offered them Rs 300 to buy sweets. They refused it,” he said.

The local CPM leaders who Bhayani met, including the councillor, to seek help said the party had never encouraged extortion and wasn’t responsible for the activities of individuals. They advised him to file a complaint with the police.

On Saturday afternoon, a group of 15 raided Bhayani’s fifth-floor apartment for the fourth time, this time to vandalise. “They beat up two of my workers and damaged the floor tiles and other materials. My work was almost done but they ruined it,” the wholesaler said.

The harassment continued at the police station. “I was made to wait at the police station for more than three hours just to lodge the complaint. They accepted my complaint but I can see all the accused roaming about freely. On Monday, these men threatened to teach me a lesson for complaining,” Bhayani said.