Dipaneeta Das
Nandigram Congress candidate Milan Pradhan, released on interim bail by the Calcutta High Court, has alleged that police officials pressured him to withdraw his candidature and offered to fulfil his demands in exchange for stepping aside from the election.
According to a report published by Anandabazar Patrika, Pradhan made the allegations shortly after walking out of jail on Wednesday. He claimed that he was picked up by police personnel in plain clothes from Chandipur on September 18 and taken to a hotel in the Mandarmani area.
Pradhan alleged that he was blindfolded during the journey and was subsequently offered an inducement to withdraw from the contest. “Tell us what you want. You will get whatever you want by tomorrow. Just withdraw your candidature,” he quoted the officials as telling him.
The allegations came after Trinamool Congress candidate Sanchita Pradhan De withdrew her nomination from Nandigram. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee subsequently announced that the Trinamool Congress would support the Congress candidate in the constituency. Pradhan was arrested hours later in connection with an old murder case dating back to 2007.
Describing the alleged incident, Pradhan said, “I was busy campaigning. After campaigning throughout the day, I was resting in Chandipur when police personnel in civilian clothes suddenly came and forcibly took me away. My eyes were covered with a towel in the car.”
He further alleged that senior police officers were present at the hotel. “There was an IPS officer and a DSP. I told them that I do politics for my principles and could not do this,” Pradhan said, according to Anandabazar Patrika.
Pradhan claimed that he was later taken back to Chandipur around 2.30-3am and arrested. He described the episode as an abduction and said he had feared that he might be killed.
The Congress candidate also alleged that the police action was carried out following directions from the BJP. Anandabazar Patrika reported that attempts were made to contact Purba Medinipur Superintendent of Police Anshuman Saha for his response, but he did not provide a comment.
Nandigram police station officer-in-charge Ajay Kumar Mishra also did not respond to calls.
Pradhan questioned the BJP’s decision to field Hasirani Rath, the mother of Chandra Nath Rath, the late aide of Suvendu Adhikari, from Nandigram. “Hasirani is a mother, and we respect mothers. But the BJP has fielded an outsider here. Why? Was there no local son of the soil deserving of the ticket?” he said.
He also criticised the development record of Nandigram, alleging that apart from some concrete roads built during Suvendu Adhikari’s tenure, little development had taken place in the area.
Meanwhile, the West Bengal government has challenged the Calcutta High Court’s interim bail order before the Supreme Court. The Congress has said it does not expect the challenge to succeed.
Pradhan described the criminal case against him as “false and fabricated” and also referred to remarks attributed to Suvendu Adhikari about knowing how to conduct an election. “If the Chief Minister says that we know how to conduct an election, that is a threat. We have to protect democracy,” he said.
The Calcutta High Court has granted Pradhan interim bail for three weeks. Following completion of the electoral process, he will have to surrender before the Haldia court. The court has also directed him to contact the concerned police station at 8.30am and 9.30pm every day and speak to the investigating officer. The case is scheduled to come up for further hearing before the High Court on October 21.
