The dramatic arrest of P.K. Haldar in India and not in Canada where he was rumoured to be has raised many questions but few answers. While there is a great deal of hostility mixed with jubilation at his arrest many ask, if that is all what meets the eye.

Haldar has become the symbol of lies, duplicity and collusion for gain through theft of public money. As a result there is a great deal of suspicion about everything connected to him. So an increasing number of people are sceptical about the simple narrative that is being dished out about his location and arrest at this point of time. Thus the arrest has raised more questions rather than answers about the entire issue.

That includes not just the role of India in arresting him only after apparently Bangladesh authorities informed them. It's a bit hard to believe that Indians didn't become suspicious of a stranger coming from nowhere and going on a buying spree for years, including banks.+ Political implications are also there, not just about Indo-Bangla relations but Delhi-Kolkata relations as well.

As far as Bangladeshis are concerned, there is a great deal of anger against him and his accomplices but corruption is nothing new. However, the scale of his theft and his obvious impunity is more disturbing. Most people however agree that the money stolen will not be returned to the original depositors.

How could Haldar escape without help?

No one believes that Haldar escaped without active support from the bigwigs. In fact, no theft of his scale is possible unless it's a group activity. Most fingers are raised at the Bangladesh Bank and a few individuals including the near mythical Sur Chowdhury - retired Dy. Governor of BB who is considered so knowledgeable of the insider's game that no large scale theft can be planned without his input. So many in the hyper-rich world are his friends and are protecting him. He was a Haldar patron and though some action has been taken against him, he remains safe and secure like other big wigs.

Haldar was not doing a sudden theft binge but has been at it for years, almost a decade by some accounts. So he couldn't have been doing it secretly and the people who were advising him were also the advisers of the Bangladesh government and BB. So how big was the nexus? How far up does it go?

The way Haldar escaped just a few minutes before an exit prevention order was activated more or less confirms that all the official officials and agencies were involved as expected. So Haldar was allowed to leave for the sake of the safety of his accomplices and patrons. Point is, these people are still in power as most are insiders so why was India considered safe unless some understanding existed?

If Haldar returns, who will look after his group now? If the bigwigs are arrested, the entire corruption sector could be affected. But the current economic model is largely dependent on structural corruption as is inevitable in crony capitalism? So what happens if the crackdown moves from words to deeds? That seems impossible.

What did India know?

This is the part of the puzzle that has turned the episode from a local to a sort of regional event and with political implications. The first is that no one believes that Halder's entry and exit to and from India was possible without Indian collusion. Haldar went to India in 2018 to India and began to live there. But he was investing and travelling out and had both property and investment in Canada. He also held passports of Grenada and Canada. And of course he held an Indian passport.

The question therefore is, In which name did he enter India first in 2018? Does it mean a fish like Haldar by his count of crores was just allowed to loiter about? Indian media says he has property dating back twenty years so in whose name were they registered? He was also travelling and his name was on the Interpol list and non-stop in Bangla media. And no one noticed when that is part of the job any security agencies do?

His name and other details including his fingerprints were with Indian authorities then so how could they not be detected when he was getting his various IDs? When did he change his name? And in which name was he flying out using which passport? How could airport security miss this when his fingerprints were all registered as PK?

When did he switch from P.K to SS? Given India's high security operations, how could this be overlooked? Unless of course it was done deliberately and for a purpose we don't know yet? Unless India admits it's as bad as the Bangladesh system which let him out and enters India. But that happened due to money and safety concerns of his accomplices. So what was the Indian scene, money or politics or deliberate looking away?

And why? And why is Haldar arrested now? Who gains, who loses by this act and now?