Sen-sational: Crime rate plummets in area where Saradha boss was jailed

Chit fund mananger Sudipta Sen’s presence in the New Town police station of Kolkata caused a miraculous crime dip in the area. According to a report in The Telegraph the police records for New Town Police station show the complaints registered in May were only 29, a significant drop, considering March saw 62 complaints and April saw 34. Sen had been in the New Town jail since 24 April, a day after he was arrested in Sonmarg. He was shifted out on 18 May to Baruipur police station. But the Baruipur police sent Sen back to the New Town station in one day stating security concerns. So how did Sen pull off this crime-dip miracle? Well, according to the police officers, they had no choice but to wrap up complaints quickly since Sen and his associate Debjani (Mukherjee) were occupying the two cells they had. [caption id=“attachment_824645” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Sudipta Sen in this file photo. PTI[/caption] “Sen had a cell all to himself most of the time he was here. His co-accused Debjani (Mukherjee) was in the only other lock-up we have here. Where would we have kept anyone else arrested for a crime? We had to think up a solution without compromising on law and order,” an officer said. So people who were hauled up for drunken brawls, rash driving or cattle theft found their cases disposed off with strong warnings and mutual settlements. Some of those who were charged with more serious crimes found themselves tethered to the chairs of investigating officers, writes reporter Tamaghna Banerjee. Meanwhile Sen and Debjani had quite a comfortable existence in the jail, with access to low-calorie food from the canteen and interrogation in air-conditioned comfort. But then perhaps that’s the least the police could do given how good their books are looking these days thanks to their VIP prisoners. On Tuesday, Sen and Debjani were moved to Alipore jail till 11 June. That frees up space in New Town. But let’s see what this does to New Town’s crime rates in the coming month.