A Haldia court, on Saturday, rejected the bail plea of Congress candidate Milan Pradhan, who was arrested in connection with cases dating back to the 2007 Nandigram land-acquisition movement. The court sent Pradhan to 14 days of judicial custody, till October 3.
Pradhan was produced before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Haldia, following his arrest on Friday. Police had taken him into custody on the basis of four pending non-bailable warrants issued in connection with cases registered in 2007.
According to the police, three of the cases were registered at Nandigram police station and one at Khejuri police station. The cases include allegations relating to murder, attempt to murder, abduction with intent to murder, destruction of evidence, house trespass and rioting involving arms and deadly weapons. Police have also said that three of the cases involve provisions of the Arms Act.
Police have maintained that Pradhan had been “absconding” since 2007 and that repeated attempts to execute the warrants had earlier failed. In a statement, the police said the arrest was part of a special drive to execute long-pending non-bailable warrants, which it described as a standing instruction of the Election Commission during elections and bypolls.
Arrest came after Mamata announced support
Pradhan's arrest came within hours after Mamata Banerjee announced that her faction of the Trinamool Congress would support his candidature in the October 6 Nandigram bypoll. Her faction's candidate, Sanchita Pradhan Dey, had withdrawn her nomination earlier on Friday. Banerjee subsequently announced support for the Congress nominee.
West Bengal Congress president Shubhankar Sarkar said outside the Haldia court, “If our candidate is sent to jail, thousands of Milan Pradhans will take to the field in Nandigram and campaign.” He has also said the party's political and legal campaign would continue.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has described the arrest as “political revenge”, while the rival Trinamool faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee has defended the execution of the pending warrants and said the cases against Pradhan should not be overlooked.
The Nandigram by-election was necessitated after Suvendu Adhikari won from both Nandigram and Bhabanipur in the 2026 Assembly election and subsequently vacated the Nandigram seat. Polling is scheduled for October 6, with counting on October 9.
Pradhan's judicial custody will continue until October 3, three days before polling in the constituency.
