Kolkata: Padma Shri awardee singer Ustad Rashid Khan’s wife Joyeeta Basu Khan on Thursday alleged harassment by a section of the Kolkata Police personnel after their driver refused to pay a bribe while being stopped at a traffic crossing in Eastern Metropolitan Bypass.
Joyeeta Basu Khan also alleged that the police took their vehicle to Pragati Maidan Police Station and summoned her as well her husband, the Padma Shri awardee singer, to the police station during the wee hours of Thursday.
When she went to the police station to get the driver and the vehicle released, an officer misbehaved with her and used foul language.
Later, Rashid Khan himself rushed to the police station for the same. Joyeeta Basu Khan alleged that after being stopped at the traffic crossing, the traffic police personnel stopped the car and demanded a bribe of Rs 2,000.
“Our driver was returning after dropping a friend to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport. He was unable to pay Rs 2,000 as he was not carrying that amount. After that he was slapped with a drunk-driving case and taken to Pragati Maidan Police station, where the vehicle was also towed,” she alleged. She also claimed that the allegation of drunk-driving was baseless.
However, the joint commissioner (crime) of Kolkata Police, Murli Dhar Sharma, has claimed that Khan’s driver was arrested because of drunk driving, which has been proved through medical tests. As regards to harassment of Joyeeta Basu Khan at Pragati Maidan police station, Sharma said that there has not been any official complaint on this count and the matter will surely be investigated after the complaint is filed.
