Kolkata:Many have not heard of Shankaraditya Sen, an ambitious Naxal, who later turned into a land shark. Known as Shankar in his neighbourhood at the height of the Naxal movement in the 1970s, he had disappeared over a decade back, only to resurface with a new identity — Sudipta Sen.
The Saradha Group boss, accused of fleecing lakhs of poor investors, had ironically fought for the proletariat. He had met legendary Naxal leader Charu Mazumdar on a number of occasions and was even jailed in 1971-72 for pursuing the ultras’ cause.
Born in the mid-1950s (Sen’s passport mentions the date as March 30, 1959), he was the third among four siblings — Shukla, Shiladitya, Shankaraditya and Bikramaditya. His parents — Nripendranarayan and Renukana Sen — had migrated to Kolkata from Dhaka during Partition. “My fatherin-law worked at the Survey of India while my mother-in-law was at Calcutta Telephones,” said Sen’s brother’s wife.
Onkar Singh, a one-time neighbour and friend of Shankar, recounted the strong Naxalite base at the Entally neighbourhood in the 1960s and ’70s. “Shankar was a good orator. He could speak at length and hold people’s attention. Perhaps Charu Mazumdar saw some potential in him when he visited the area,” Singh said.
The turning point for Shankar came in jail where he met other Naxals as well as criminals and mid-rung politicians. By the time he stepped out, Shankar was a different man. He seemed to have wiped off the ultra-Left ideology and embraced capitalism. Using the network he developed in jail, Shankar turned into a land broker. “Even at that early stage, he had lofty ambitions. It was quite clear that he was not content being a small broker,” recounted an aide.
Over the next few years, he gained experience in a series of land deals in south Kolkata. By the mid-1980s, he had formed his own network.
“His new ring comprised many powerful people, including the very policemen who had arrested him. Many cops from the dreaded anti-Naxalite squad of Runu Guha Niyogi joined his team,” said a former ally of Shankar.
Shankar married Madhumita in the mid 1980s. A few years after that he moved out of his parent’s house with his wife and son, severing ties with the rest of the family. He met his family only twice after that.
“Shankar had turned a complete stranger. So much so that after our mother died in 2005, we were unable to contact him,” said Bikramaditya. None of the siblings knows when he changed his name, but they presume it could be some time towards the end of the 1990s or the beginning of the 2000s. The first document to carry his new identity was the passport issued in 2004.
Sudipta Sen alias Shankaraditya Sen had met Naxal leader Charu Mazumdar on a number of occasions and was jailed in 1971-72 for pursuing the ultras’ cause
Courtesy:
Caesar Mandal TNN
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIM&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI&Enter=true&Skin=TOINEW
The Saradha Group boss, accused of fleecing lakhs of poor investors, had ironically fought for the proletariat. He had met legendary Naxal leader Charu Mazumdar on a number of occasions and was even jailed in 1971-72 for pursuing the ultras’ cause.
Born in the mid-1950s (Sen’s passport mentions the date as March 30, 1959), he was the third among four siblings — Shukla, Shiladitya, Shankaraditya and Bikramaditya. His parents — Nripendranarayan and Renukana Sen — had migrated to Kolkata from Dhaka during Partition. “My fatherin-law worked at the Survey of India while my mother-in-law was at Calcutta Telephones,” said Sen’s brother’s wife.
Onkar Singh, a one-time neighbour and friend of Shankar, recounted the strong Naxalite base at the Entally neighbourhood in the 1960s and ’70s. “Shankar was a good orator. He could speak at length and hold people’s attention. Perhaps Charu Mazumdar saw some potential in him when he visited the area,” Singh said.
The turning point for Shankar came in jail where he met other Naxals as well as criminals and mid-rung politicians. By the time he stepped out, Shankar was a different man. He seemed to have wiped off the ultra-Left ideology and embraced capitalism. Using the network he developed in jail, Shankar turned into a land broker. “Even at that early stage, he had lofty ambitions. It was quite clear that he was not content being a small broker,” recounted an aide.
Over the next few years, he gained experience in a series of land deals in south Kolkata. By the mid-1980s, he had formed his own network.
“His new ring comprised many powerful people, including the very policemen who had arrested him. Many cops from the dreaded anti-Naxalite squad of Runu Guha Niyogi joined his team,” said a former ally of Shankar.
Shankar married Madhumita in the mid 1980s. A few years after that he moved out of his parent’s house with his wife and son, severing ties with the rest of the family. He met his family only twice after that.
“Shankar had turned a complete stranger. So much so that after our mother died in 2005, we were unable to contact him,” said Bikramaditya. None of the siblings knows when he changed his name, but they presume it could be some time towards the end of the 1990s or the beginning of the 2000s. The first document to carry his new identity was the passport issued in 2004.
Sudipta Sen alias Shankaraditya Sen had met Naxal leader Charu Mazumdar on a number of occasions and was jailed in 1971-72 for pursuing the ultras’ cause
Courtesy:
Caesar Mandal TNN
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIM&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI&Enter=true&Skin=TOINEW
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