“According to Avatar Singh’s complaint, Bose said his garage was frequented by one Munna Musalman, a co-accused of Pakhi Mian. Bose threatened him that he would implicate him in the murder case if he failed to shell out Rs 50,000. He made a number of phone calls to Singh and also met him personally,” said another source. A trap was laid and Avatar called up Bose to arrange for a meeting to hand over the money. Bose and Singh fixed Ultadanga crossing as the venue. Bose was caught when he arrived at the spot at 12.10 pm and took the cash. Teams raided his office in Salt Lake and his residence in Ultadanga. The raids were on till last reports came in.

Bose, who was leading the investigation in a number of high-profile cases, is one of the most important CBI officers in Bengal. He faced sharp criticism from the ruling CPM when he arrested Suhrid Dutta, party’s Hooghly district committee member, and his accomplice Debu Malik in the Tapasi Malik murder case. The two were recently convicted for life by a lower court. Bose was also criticised by the ruling party for his investigation into the Chhota Angaria case.

According to sources, the CBI top brass in Delhi is now preparing to replace Bose in the SCB’s Kolkata office, which is already reeling under a shortage of senior officers. Superintendent of Police (CBI) S Sunder Rajan was recently transferred to Orissa and held joint charge for both Kolkata and Orissa offices. Bose was at present in charge of the SCB Kolkata, in the absence of any superior.