A Kolkata Police home guard has been arrested in an investigation into an alleged bribery network that allowed goods trucks to enter Kolkata, Howrah and other South Bengal cities despite no-entry restrictions, police sources said. Investigators are examining whether officials in several traffic guards received regular payments to permit the vehicles to pass.
The arrested officer was posted at the Ultadanga Traffic Home Guard unit, according to the report by Sangbad Pratidin. He was questioned as part of the investigation into how trucks and lorries were being released during restricted-entry periods. Police said the home guard did not cooperate with the investigation, following which investigators arrested him.
The case emerged during a wider probe by the state police’s Anti-Corruption Branch, or ACB. The agency recently arrested a person identified as Sanjib from Howrah, described in the report as one of the alleged heads of the syndicate. Investigators are examining whether the network operated through intermediaries who collected money from truck drivers and coordinated with traffic personnel.
According to the report, truck drivers allegedly paid around Rs 2,500 to the syndicate to enter areas covered by no-entry restrictions. Sanjib is alleged to have collected payments through a special card issued to drivers. When the card was shown, traffic personnel in parts of Kolkata, Howrah and Baruipur allegedly allowed trucks to pass even during restricted hours.
The allegations point to a system operating beyond individual traffic violations. No-entry rules for heavy vehicles are intended to manage congestion, protect road capacity and reduce conflicts between freight traffic and other road users in built-up areas. If enforcement is selectively bypassed, the restriction becomes dependent on informal access rather than a consistently applied traffic system. The supplied report, however, does not establish the number of vehicles involved, the specific roads affected or the exact financial transactions.
An ACB official was quoted as saying that the alleged corruption had continued across South Bengal for 12 years, beginning in 2014, and involved several crores of rupees. Investigators are now working to identify police officers and other government personnel who may have been linked to the network. Those identified may be summoned for questioning, the report said.
The investigation follows multiple complaints about trucks entering urban areas despite restrictions. The alleged arrangement involved syndicate members collecting monthly payments, or ‘monthly shares’, and passing them on to personnel at traffic guards, according to the report. These claims remain part of the ongoing investigation and have not been established by a court.
The case also raises questions about how cities monitor freight movement when enforcement depends on multiple traffic units and local checkpoints. The report does not specify whether digital permits, vehicle cameras, audit trails or other monitoring systems were used on the affected routes, nor does it say whether any departmental disciplinary action has been announced beyond the arrest.
The ACB is continuing to question suspects and identify officials allegedly connected to the network. Further arrests or summonses may follow as investigators examine the syndicate’s operations and its links with traffic personnel, according to the police account cited in the report.
