Basu’s lawyer says car needed for his real-estate business

Basu claimed, via his lawyer N G Khaitan, that the car had been leased for Rs 48,000 a month by a company of which he is managing director. The company, Om Udyog Ltd, is a real-estate developer with projects in one of the most happening areas in the state, Rajarhat New Town.

The elusive Chandan Basu was so far known as a businessman who tried to make forays, without much success, into biscuit-making and prawn exports.

Khaitan claimed Om Udyog wanted a ‘‘big car to ferry its officers to various sites and came across Delhi-based VK Tours & Transport.’’

But DRI officials said they had accessed Delhi dealer Sanjay Bhandari’s laptop—he is now in judicial custody—and the paper trail leading to Basu’s car originated in emails he had sent to Bhandari.

These related to cash payments and delivery schedules that indicate Basu’s involvement in placing the order, DRI officials alleged.

But Khaitan claimed that a person hiring a car can at most check the ownership of the car, and is not required to find out how the car was procured by the owner. So, Khaitan said, a hire contract was signed after Basu ‘‘satisfied himself’’ that the vehicle was registered in the name of VK Tours, and had all relevant documents.

However, Khaitan had no answer to several questions: how was the car being operated without mandatory insurance papers (Khaitan claimed that the insurance papers were with the car’s owner) or how was the car leased out when it wasn’t supposed to? Chandan Basu refused to take phone calls made to his residence.