A row has erupted in West Bengal’s Asansol after a large quantity of relief materials and ration supplies were allegedly recovered from an Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) quarter reportedly occupied by a local Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader.
The recovery was made on Thursday evening. BJP leaders alleged that blankets, tarpaulins, clothes, rice and wheat meant for distribution among the poor and needy had been stored inside the locked quarter linked to Udeep Singh.
According to sources, Singh had allegedly occupied two ECL quarters in the area.
The BJP leaders have claimed that after TMC’s drubbing in the Assembly polls, he vacated the quarters and moved away from the locality with his family.
But information emerged that one of two quarters still contained a large stock of relief and ration materials.
Following the tip-off, BJP workers approached ECL and colliery authorities seeking access to the premises.
On Thursday evening, the locked quarter was opened and the relief materials, including hundreds of blankets, tarpaulins, clothes and food grains, including rice and wheat, were found inside.
The alleged recovery quickly sparked anger among local residents, with many demanding a thorough investigation into how the materials came to be stored inside the premises.
Several residents also called for strict action against those found responsible.
Police personnel present at the scene reportedly seized the recovered materials and launched an enquiry into the matter.
The controversy comes amid an already charged political atmosphere in West Bengal, where several politically sensitive incidents have surfaced in recent days.
In a similar incident on May 31, local residents allegedly recovered a large quantity of flood-relief materials from the office of TMC MP Bapi Haldar in South 24 Parganas.
Residents and BJP workers claimed that hundreds of cartons and boxes containing supplies meant for flood-affected and economically weaker families had been stored inside the MP’s office instead of being distributed among beneficiaries.
The discovery triggered protests and vandalism.
Just yesterday, Kolkata TMC councillor Mahesh Kumar Sharma was arrested on extortion and criminal intimidation charges.
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Published By:
Karishma Saurabh Kalita
Published On:
Jun 5, 2026 08:40 IST
