Politics · India Bureau
Congress Nandigram candidate Milan Pradhan remanded to judicial custody
A court in West Bengal has sent Milan Pradhan, the Congress party's bypoll candidate in Nandigram, to judicial custody for two weeks following his arrest on charges stemming from a 2007 land acquisition protest. Pradhan faces multiple non-bailable charges including murder, rioting and criminal intimidation dating back nearly two decades.
LSN India ·
The Haldia Subdivisional Court on Saturday remanded Pradhan to judicial custody till October 3, a day after West Bengal Police arrested him on the basis of four pending arrest warrants. The charges relate to incidents during the 2007 anti-land acquisition agitation in Nandigram, one of the most volatile periods in the region's recent history.
According to police, Pradhan was arrested in connection with non-bailable cases registered at the Nandigram police station involving rioting, murder, attempted murder, kidnapping and criminal intimidation. He was also booked under relevant sections of the Arms Act.
Pradhan's legal counsel confirmed that the court remanded him to judicial custody for 14 days in connection with three warrants linked to cases at Nandigram police station. The candidate is scheduled to appear before the Contai court on Monday regarding a fourth warrant issued in a separate case.
The arrest comes amid heightened political activity surrounding the Nandigram bypoll, with the Congress fielding Pradhan as its candidate in the constituency, which has been a significant electoral battleground in West Bengal.