Barabanki: Employees of a railway construction firm have alleged extortion in Uttar Pradesh's Barabanki even as police have arrested two accused in the case. Bhargava Ram of Andhra Pradesh, the project manager of the firm, which is building new platforms and station buildings for Safdarganj, Saidkhanpur, and Dariyaabad stations on the Barabanki-Ayodhya railway track alleged that six bike-borne goons associated with Gosaiganj MLA Abhay Singh arrived on the construction site on April 1 and started abusing them.
Bhargava said the goons threatened to stop the ongoing work at the railway station and even kill them if they did not pay the extortion money. He said the goons told him it was a “norm that whoever undertakes railway work here, he has to give 2 percent commission to MLA”. Subsequently, on April 8, the project manager lodged a complaint at the Ram Sanehi Ghat police station in this regard.
"In Barabanki some railway-related construction is going on. The complaints said that some outsiders were demanding money from them. A case has been lodged on the basis of the complaint and two accused have been arrested," said Additional SP Manoj Pandey. He also said that further legal action will be taken in the case.
Police said that a case was registered under sections 384,504,506,120B IPC at Ram Sanehi Ghat police station. Two accused identified as Vikram Singh alias Bablu Khan alias Avesh Khan, resident of Hasnu Katra police station Cantt district Ayodhya and Surendra Kumar alias Kalia, resident of village Kukuhi police station Kachouna district Hardoi, were arrested from Ghazipur on Saturday.
A mobile phone, a four-wheeler and two keys to a dumper, and Rs 3200 in cash were recovered from them. Surendra Kumar Kalia is a very notorious criminal. A total of 18 cases are registered against him in many places including Lucknow, Barabanki, Kolkata, and Baghpat.
Also read: Notorious criminal held on charges of extortion in UP
