The crackdown on Trinamool Congress leaders in West Bengal gathered pace on Wednesday as the Special Task Force (STF) arrested TMC MLA Dilip Mondal from a hotel in Odisha’s Puri in connection with a case involving inflammatory speeches and threats directed at rival political parties after the recent Assembly elections.
Mondal, who represents the Bishnupur constituency in South 24 Parganas, has become the first sitting TMC legislator to be arrested since the party’s defeat in the Assembly elections, where it managed to win only 80 seats in the 294-member House.
According to police officials, Mondal had been evading authorities since an FIR was filed against him. The development comes days after his son, Arghya Mondal, was arrested along with five others on May 18 in a separate case involving the alleged possession of illegal firearms.
Officials said the arrested MLA will be presented before a court in Odisha before being brought back to West Bengal on transit remand.
The arrest is part of a wider series of actions targeting several TMC leaders after the Bharatiya Janata Party assumed power in the state following the declaration of election results on May 4.
Earlier this month, former state minister Sujit Bose was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in an alleged recruitment corruption case linked to the South Dum Dum municipality in North 24 Parganas.
In another development, Baduria municipality chairman Dipankar Bhattacharya was taken into custody after police reportedly recovered a substantial quantity of relief materials along with ₹80 lakh in unexplained cash during a search operation at his premises.
Police sources indicated that the post-election action has extended beyond these high-profile cases, with around 50 TMC leaders across various districts allegedly facing arrests on charges ranging from extortion and corruption to violence-related offences
