Atashi Dutta Tarafdar has been brought to Silchar Sadar Thana from SMCH; she says, 3 lakh was for "collection"

After spending the night at Silchar Medical College and Hospital, Atashi Dutta Tarafdar has now been brought to the Silchar Sadar Thana. Head assistant, election office – Silchar (Boro Babu), Atashi Dutta Tarafdar was caught red-handed while taking bribe at her office, yesterday. A team of vigilance officers from Assam Police’s anti-corruption department conducted an operation and nabbed Tarafdar.

She was first taken to Silchar Civil Hospital from the election office. From there she was taken to Silchar Medical College and Hospital where she spent the night. If Tarafdar was ill and needed medical attention or was she taken to the hospital for a formal medical check-up, is yet to be known.

Today afternoon when she was asked by the media about the Rs 3,00,000 found in her drawer, she said, “It is election time and this is collection money which we need to pay”. Many vendors are waiting for their bills to be cleared, is the three lakh for them or was it bribes collected from other vendors, who do you have to pay, media asked repeatedly, but she refused to respond.

As per sources in Silchar Sadar Thana, Atashi Dutta Tarafdar has been kept in the women cell inside the Police station. The head assistant of election office had asked the proprietor of a printing press Sujit Chanda for Rs 95,000 as bribe, without which she refused to clear his bills worth Rs 2,50,000. Chanda then reached out to officials and thus the operation was conducted after which she was caught red-handed.