Another pro Mamata Banerjee Trinamool Congress MLA Paresh Ram Das who was arrested on Monday afternoon while allegedly trying to flee away to Mumbai was produced before a district court and remanded to police custody.
Das has been booked under multiple criminal charges rape, extortion, cheating, criminal conspiracy, intimidation apart from post poll violence, sources said. Das, who was picked up from Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport while trying to board a Mumbai-bound flight was being evading law for the past 17 days, officials said adding he had repeatedly failed to respond to summons issued to him.
Some Rs 2 lakh and 6 mobile phones were recovered from him. Das’ arrest comes days after another senior pro-Mamata Banerjee TMC leader and former Bengal minister Indranil Sen was arrested on charges of Durga Puja fake ticket scam.
When asked to comment on his arrest the TMC leaders said he was being framed for no fault of his.
“The system is like this … these days … you are arrested according to your political line,” Das was quoted as saying while the TMC leadership condemning his arrest said “no one of the party can show allegiance to Mamata Banerjee … if he does so he will be arrested.”
Party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh, questioning the timing of the arrest said, the police took no action against Das as long as he was aligned with the rebel Ritabrata Banerjee camp and as soon as he is leaning towards the Mamata Banerjee camp they have arrested him.”
This follows a series of detentions and defections amid internal splits in the TMC following the party’s loss in the West Bengal Assembly elections.