Former Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Khokan Das has been arrested in connection with the 2021 post-poll violence in West Bengal, said officials on Sunday. Das, who represented the Bardhaman Dakshin assembly constituency from 2021 to 2026, was nabbed from Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj.
He was apprehended by the West Bengal Police, along with assistance of their counterparts from Uttar Pradesh, from a toll near the Handia town. He will be brought back to West Bengal, where he will be produced before a magistrate later.
Das, a TMC heavyweight, has been arrested in connection with the 2021 post-poll violence in West Bengal. He is accused of instigating mob against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and attacking their residences in the Bardhaman Dakshin constituency in 2021.
In the 2021 assembly elections, Das received 91,015 votes to defeat BJP candidate Sandip Nandi, who secured 82,910 votes. However, he lost his seat in the 2026 polls, which saw the BJP ousting Mamata Banerjee from power and ending the 15-year TMC rule in the state.
According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), Das lost to BJP's Moumita Biswas Mishra by a margin of over 30,000 votes in the recently held elections. He secured 77,284 votes, while Mishra received 1,07,754 votes.
The TMC is yet to react to Das' arrest.
Five arrested in connection with attack on Abhishek
In another development, the police have arrested five people in connection with Saturday's attack on TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee. The arrested accused were identified as Akash Gayen, Kajal Das, Debashish Dutta, Nirmalya Sengupta and Tapan Maiti, who will be produced before a court in Baruipur later.
Abhishek, a Lok Sabha member from the Diamond Harbour constituency, was attacked during his visit to Sonarpur on Saturday. The TMC alleged that the attackers belonged to the BJP, but the saffron party refuted the charges and alleged that the accused had links to former Trinamool MLA Lovely Maitra.
The investigation is currently underway, but it certainty has caused a massive row, with both the BJP and the TMC blaming each other for the attack. The TMC has also described the attack an attempt to kill Abhishek, while the BJP pointed out that such incidents were very common when Mamata Banerjee was in power in West Bengal.
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