Swarup Biswas, the brother of former West Bengal sports minister and TMC leader Aroop Biswas, was arrested by Kolkata Police on Thursday in connection with an extortion case registered at New Alipore Police Station.
The case stems from a complaint filed by one Simran Pal, who alleged that Swarup Biswas and others threatened and intimidated him in an attempt to extort money. Based on the complaint, police registered a case under provisions related to extortion, criminal intimidation, unlawful assembly and offences under the Arms Act.
Investigators were also probing allegations that weapons were used to threaten the complainant.
The arrest came at a time when Swarup Biswas is already facing scrutiny in a separate high-profile case linked to the chaos surrounding Argentine great Lionel Messi’s event at the Salt Lake Stadium on December 13 last year.
The controversy erupted after Shatadru Dutta, organiser of Messi’s India Tour, accused several individuals, including Aroop Biswas and his brother Swarup Biswas, of extortion, criminal intimidation and ticket black-marketing connected to the football programme.
In his complaint, Dutta alleged that nearly 22,000 tickets for the event were sold in the black market and claimed that Aroop Biswas had used his position as sports minister to exert influence over the organisation of the programme. The event was marred by disorder and allegations of vandalism, leading to multiple complaints and investigations.
On Thursday, Aroop Biswas failed to appear before investigators in the Messi event case despite being asked to do so by June 5. Police said the former minister sought two weeks’ time, citing ill health.
Dutta, who was arrested during the probe and spent 37 days in custody before securing bail, has alleged that the Biswas brothers were responsible for the collapse of the event and the financial losses suffered by organisers.
– Ends
(with inputs from PTI)
Published By:
Prateek Chakraborty
Published On:
Jun 4, 2026 23:52 IST
