{"id":27388,"date":"2019-02-05T21:39:40","date_gmt":"2019-02-05T16:09:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/?p=27388"},"modified":"2019-02-05T22:15:33","modified_gmt":"2019-02-05T16:45:33","slug":"fact-check-self-proclaimed-whistleblower-claims-kolkata-police-hq-home-of-benami-companies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/fact-check-self-proclaimed-whistleblower-claims-kolkata-police-hq-home-of-benami-companies\/","title":{"rendered":"Fact-check: Self-proclaimed \u2018whistleblower\u2019 claims Kolkata Police HQ home to benami companies"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>At the backdrop of the recent CBI raid\u00a0on Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar\u2019s residence over the issue of Saradha chit fund scam, a rumour on social media claims that <em>&#8220;490 benami companies are registered to the address of the city police headquarters 9\/12, Lal Bazar street 1st floor, room no. 9.&#8221;\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The claim\u00a0was\u00a0given birth to by self-proclaimed &#8216;whistleblower&#8217; and &#8216;anti-corruption activist&#8217; Neil Haslam in the morning of February 4.\u00a0<em>&#8220;I support CBI Raid against Calcutta Police commissioner&#8217;s office &amp; commissioner himself,&#8221;\u00a0<\/em>was the ending statement of his tweet.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">HERE IS A LIST OF 490 BENAMI COMPANIES ALL REGISTERED TO CALCUTTA POLICE HQ<\/p>\n<p>9\/12, LAL BAZAR STREET 1ST FLOOR, ROOM NO. 9 KOLKATA WB 700001 IN<\/p>\n<p>I support CBI Raid against Calcutta Police commissioner&#8217;s office &amp; commissioner himself. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/CBIRAID?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#CBIRAID<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ShellCompanies?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#ShellCompanies<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Breaking?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Breaking<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/xcR06z6oJv\">pic.twitter.com\/xcR06z6oJv<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Neil Haslam (@neilhaslam90) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/neilhaslam90\/status\/1092284017322405891?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 4, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Responding to a few comments on his claim, Haslam said that he had sent the list to\u00a0the finance ministry in 2017 itself.\u00a0<em>&#8220;Hence the raid,&#8221;\u00a0<\/em>he tweeted in reference to the income tax raid that took place two years ago in Kolkata&#8217;s Lal Bazaar. But more on that later.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-27427 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/reply.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"425\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/reply.png 614w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/reply-300x208.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 614px) 100vw, 614px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Haslam&#8217;s list of 490 benami companies is viral on Facebook and Twitter alike.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Viral: False claim that 490 benami companies are registered to the address of Kolkata police headquarters\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/315454354?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"1290\" height=\"687\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>BJP Delhi spokesperson Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga was among those who retweeted it.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-27434 \" src=\"http:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/Screenshot_20190205-204617_01.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"715\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/Screenshot_20190205-204617_01.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/Screenshot_20190205-204617_01-252x300.jpg 252w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/Screenshot_20190205-204617_01-768x915.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/Screenshot_20190205-204617_01-859x1024.jpg 859w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/Screenshot_20190205-204617_01-990x1180.jpg 990w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The claim, however, is far from the truth.<\/p>\n<h2>9\/12 Lal Bazar is NOT the address of Kolkata police headquarters<\/h2>\n<p>The rumour claims that these fronts for earning black money are registered to 9\/12 Lal Bazar, which is the address of the city&#8217;s police headquarters. However, the Kolkata police headquarters is located at\u00a018, Lal Bazar. The address is given on the official website of the city police.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-27393 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/police-HQ.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"975\" height=\"513\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/police-HQ.png 975w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/police-HQ-300x158.png 300w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/police-HQ-768x404.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 975px) 100vw, 975px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Alt News also contacted Lal Bazar police station to confirm the address and we told the same location as mentioned on the website. 9\/12 is the address of the Mercantile Building, the police informed.<\/p>\n<p>Upon cross-checking on Google maps, we found that the Mercantile Building (9\/12 Lal Bazar) is situated at a distance of 200 metres from the Lal Bazar police headquarters (18, Lal Bazar).<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-27394 \" src=\"http:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/Selection_05_02_2019_007.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"441\" height=\"401\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/Selection_05_02_2019_007.jpg 587w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/Selection_05_02_2019_007-300x273.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 441px) 100vw, 441px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Moreover, the buildings\u00a0look completely distinct from one another.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-27414 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/building.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1500\" height=\"900\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/building.jpeg 1500w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/building-300x180.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/building-768x461.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/building-1024x614.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/building-990x594.jpeg 990w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/building-1320x792.jpeg 1320w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The mismatch in addresses was enough evidence to invalidate Haslam&#8217;s claims.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What is the real story behind the 490 benami companies?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Haslam claimed that all the companies were registered to the\u00a0same address &#8211; &#8220;<em>9\/12, Lal Bazar street 1st floor, room no. 9, Kolkata.&#8221;\u00a0<\/em>However, a quick glance at his list reveals that quite a few companies did not have the same address.<\/p>\n<p>For some of them, the floor and the block were different. More importantly, many of them had &#8220;mercantile building&#8221; written as part of the address. This further proved that while Haslam claimed that 9\/12 was the address of Kolkata police headquarters, his list itself gave away that the location actually houses the city&#8217;s Mercantile Building.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-27401 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/merc.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1239\" height=\"174\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/merc.png 1239w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/merc-300x42.png 300w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/merc-768x108.png 768w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/merc-1024x144.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/merc-990x139.png 990w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1239px) 100vw, 1239px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The Mercantile Building is a colonial-era construction in the Bengali heartland. It was built in 1918 and since then has become home\u00a0to numerous offices. It was in the news in 2017 when law enforcement and revenue officials raided more than 400 shell companies working out of the building. An\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/news\/politics-and-nation\/these-kolkata-companies-exist-only-to-turn-black-money-into-white\/articleshow\/57135619.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Economic Times<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>article had misreported the address of this building as the Kolkata police headquarters.<\/p>\n<p>However, the raid had nothing to do with the Lal Bazar police station.<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;Still famous for colonial-era commodities such as tea and dying goods and services such as typewriters and wedding bands, the bustling area in central Kolkata is almost synonymous with the <strong>city police headquarters, housed in a red brick building at 18 Lalbazar Street<\/strong>. <strong>Right across the street is the dilapidated Mercantile Buildings at 9\/12.<\/strong> In its recent crackdown on shell companies, the income tax (I-T) department has identified this address as the home of 90 per cent \u2014 or 300 \u2014 of such entities in the country,&#8221;\u00a0<\/em>read an August 2017 report by\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.business-standard.com\/article\/economy-policy\/kolkata-s-lalbazar-is-home-to-at-least-300-shell-companies-117081000685_1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Business Standard<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-27406 \" src=\"http:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/bs.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"507\" height=\"367\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/bs.png 697w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/bs-300x217.png 300w, https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/bs-74x55.png 74w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 507px) 100vw, 507px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Another report by <em>Reuters <\/em>said,\u00a0<em>&#8220;A high-level task force leading the investigation has found hundreds of shell companies are registered in a few buildings in the eastern city of Kolkata, according to the government note reviewed by Reuters. More than 400 companies listed their address in a dimly-lit colonial-era building at 9\/12 Lalbazar Street.&#8221;\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The reason why Haslam&#8217;s list includes addresses that start with <em>&#8220;9\/12 Lal Bazar&#8221;<\/em> but have different floors and blocks is because various shell companies were registered to different rooms of the building.<\/p>\n<p>In conclusion, the rumours floating online are completely baseless. The address provided by Haslam is that of the Mercantile Building in Kolkata&#8217;s Lal Bazar and not the city&#8217;s police headquarters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At the backdrop of the recent CBI raid\u00a0on Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar\u2019s residence over the issue of Saradha chit fund scam, a rumour on social media claims that &#8220;490 benami companies are registered to the address of the city police headquarters 9\/12, Lal Bazar street 1st floor, room no. 9.&#8221;\u00a0 The claim\u00a0was\u00a0given birth to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":27442,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[558,559,560,561,562],"an_content_type":[],"coauthors":[141],"class_list":["post-27388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-9-11","tag-benami-companies","tag-kolkata-police-headquarters","tag-lal-bazar","tag-mercantile-building","fact_checks_claim_type-economics"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - 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