An officer of East Medinipur district police said that an arrest warrant was already issued against Milan Pradhan in an old murder case. On the basis of this warrant, he was arrested on Friday and after being produced in the court on Saturday, he was sent to judicial custody for 14 days.
The arrest of the Congress candidate came at a time when the political atmosphere of Nandigram by-election is heated. A day before this, Trinamool Congress candidate Sanchita De Pradhan had withdrawn her nomination, after which former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced her support to Congress on Nandigram seat.
Congress has termed Milan Pradhan's arrest as a political conspiracy. West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) President Subhankar Sarkar alleged that an attempt was being made to weaken the opposition by taking action against his candidate just before the elections. He said that BJP wants to end opposition politics in West Bengal.
At the same time, the East Medinipur district leadership of BJP rejected the allegations of Congress and said that the party has nothing to do with the arrest of Milan Pradhan and the police has taken action on the basis of the court warrant.
Voting for the by-election in Nandigram and Rejinagar assembly seats in Murshidabad district will be held on October 6, while the counting of votes will take place on November 9.
Nandigram seat fell vacant after the resignation of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. BJP has fielded Hasirani Rath here, while Congress has fielded Milan Pradhan. Hasirani Rath is the mother of Suvendu Adhikari's personal assistant Chandranath Rath, who was shot dead in May.