KOLKATA: Former councillor Shams Iqbal was arrested on Monday in connection with a Rs 70 lakh extortion case registered in 2023, police said, clarifying that the arrest is not related to the recent Taratala warehouse collapse that claimed 16 lives.The clarification comes amid growing political demands for action following the collapse of an under-construction warehouse on Transport Depot Road in Kolkata’s Taratala area.Earlier on Saturday, the Bharatiya Janata Majdoor Cell, a trade union affiliated with the BJP, submitted a memorandum to the Taratala police station seeking legal action against Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim and former councillors Anwar Khan and Shams Iqbal over alleged illegal constructions in the Kolkata Port area.The union demanded that police register an FIR against the three leaders, alleging their role in allowing unauthorised constructions in the locality.The memorandum was submitted three days after the warehouse collapse, which killed 16 workers and left 19 others injured, triggering questions over building safety and alleged regulatory lapses.However, police officials clarified that Iqbal’s arrest pertains solely to the Rs 70 lakh extortion case registered in 2023 and has no connection with the Taratala warehouse collapse or the ongoing investigation into the incident.
