Haldia (West Bengal), Sep 19 (PTI) The Congress’ Nandigram bypoll candidate Milan Pradhan was sent to judicial custody till October 3 by a local court on Saturday, a day after his arrest on multiple charges, including murder, that date back 19 years.
This effectively ends Pradhan’s opportunity to canvass for himself as the campaign for the October 6 bypoll to the Assembly seat vacated by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari ends on October 4.
Adhikari resigned from the Nandigram seat in May, opting to retain Bhabanipur after defeating Mamata Banerjee in the Assembly poll held earlier this year.
Pradhan was produced before the Haldia Subdivisional Court on Saturday.
The West Bengal Police said Pradhan was arrested based on four pending arrest warrants for his alleged involvement in non-bailable cases related to murder, attempt to murder, abduction with intent to murder, causing disappearance of evidence, house trespass, rioting with arms and deadly weapons, all of which were filed during the 2007 anti-land acquisition movement in Nandigram.
He was also booked under relevant sections of the Arms Act, police said.
A counsel appearing for Pradhan said, “The court has remanded Milan Pradhan to judicial custody for 14 days in connection with the three warrants associated with cases in Nandigram police station. He will be produced before the Contai court on Monday in connection with the fourth warrant issued in cases registered with the Khejuri police station.” “The prosecution maintained in court that Pradhan was absconding for the past 19 years and the police were unable to trace him. They have arrested him now because they have only now been able to find him,” he added.
The Congress candidate’s arrest came within hours of former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee announcing her support for him in the Nandigram Assembly bypoll, after her faction’s nominee Sanchita Pradhan Dey withdrew from the contest.
Both the Congress and Trinamool Congress faction of Mamata Banerjee questioned the timing of the arrest and alleged the case was being used to target the opposition ahead of the election.
“The timing (of the arrest) raises serious questions and is the usual BJP formula: dig out an old case. But why now? Just after we announced support to the Congress! The BJP’s politics of vendetta and atrocities show a clear pattern. With manipulation, with vote loot, with intimidation, the election agency-BJP partnership is killing democracy every day,” Banerjee remarked on X on Friday.
The BJP has rejected the allegations and maintained that the arrest was related to pending criminal cases.
The state police maintained that repeated attempts to arrest Pradhan in the past failed since he was absconding.
“The arrested person had been absconding and evading the due process of law for 19 years since 2007 and stands chargesheeted in the cases concerned as an absconder. Repeated attempts to execute the warrants had failed in the past, and non-execution reports had been duly submitted to the concerned courts from time to time,” police said in a statement.
“Execution of long-pending non-bailable warrants is a standing instruction of the Election Commission of India in respect of all elections/bye-elections. The arrest of Pradhan is a lawful step towards compliance with the same during the course of an ongoing special drive,” the statement added.
Congress leaders have strongly protested Pradhan’s arrest, with party general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal accusing the BJP of attempting to eliminate opposition voices in Bengal and describing the situation as an “assault on democracy”.
Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also criticised the action and questioned the timing of the arrest, while Rahul Gandhi condemned it in a video message and said the party would continue its electoral fight.
Nandigram has emerged as a politically charged battleground between Banerjee and Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. Banerjee had unsuccessfully contested the seat against Adhikari in the 2021 Assembly elections. In the upcoming bypoll, the BJP has fielded Hasirani Rath, mother of Adhikari’s late aide Chandranath Rath.
The arrest and remand have also intensified speculation over the electoral implications of Banerjee’s decision to back the Congress candidate. She had described the Congress as a “sister party” and said the move was intended to strengthen the INDIA bloc.
The West Bengal unit of the Congress, however, has maintained that it did not seek Banerjee’s support, underscoring the continuing complexity of relations between the two parties in the state. PTI SMY NSD
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.