Former West Bengal minister Aroop Biswas’s brother, Swarup Biswas, was produced in the Alipore Court on Friday in a case related to alleged extortion and sexual harassment. He was arrested on Thursday by the New Alipore Police after a complaint was filed against Swarup, the president of the Federation of Cine Technicians & Workers of Eastern India, for allegedly extorting money from technicians at Tollygunge’s Technician Studio.
Non-bailable charges have been invoked against Swarup based on the complaint filed by a member of the Tollygunge Make-up Artists Federation. He allegedly denied the complainant work for two years while extorting money in exchange for employment. There are sexual harassment charges too against him.
“Artists were shunned. They were asked to go for TMC (Trinamool Congress) rallies,” said Agnimitra Paul, women & child development, social welfare and municipal affairs minister. “His arrest was just a matter of time.”
Actor Rupa Bhattacharya said she faced backlash and did not get work for almost 10 years due to lobbying and a nexus orchestrated by Swarup. “I had spoken to producers of a big-budget cinema; the shooting date was fixed. Then I was told shooting was not taking place. I am an insider; I know whether shooting is taking place.”
Bhattacharya then got to know shooting was happening and producers were told not to take her as she was in the opposition party and it would be a problem to release the film. She even says she got shows but was told it was banned from the higher ranks, since they feared she would speak against the government. “This is how I was cornered,” she added.
The actor said there should not be political intervention in the film industry when it comes to work, even as Tollygunge MLA Papia Adhikary announced the Eastern India Motion Pictures & Cultural Confederation (EIMPCC) with her as its president, to replace the earlier Federation of Cine Technicians of Eastern India (FCTWEI) which was headed by Swarup.
Big-budget producers from Mumbai too reportedly refused to shoot in West Bengal due to exorbitant costs.
“We are against stealing anyone’s rights, to snatch away rights of people, to hurt artists’ livelihoods,” said Samik Bhattacharya, BJP state president.
Aroop Biswas, who won from the Tollygunge seat in 2021, is also under the scanner in another matter. Event organiser Satadru Dutta has filed a complaint at Biddhanagar police station alleging mishandling of international footballer Lionel Messi during his GOAT India visit in December last year. Messi was escorted out of the stadium without fans getting a glimpse of the star, leading to the ransacking of the Salt Lake stadium premises. Aroop was accused of entering the field of play with his people, which is against the rules. Dutta was arrested, but he maintains that he was made the scapegoat.
