West Bengal bypolls: Rejinagar Independent candidate arrested in 2021 clash case

Kolkata, Sep 20 (PTI) An Independent candidate for the Rejinagar assembly bypoll in West Bengal was arrested in a five-year-old case of a clash between two groups during the 2021 state elections, police said.

The arrest of Saiful Islam, who is associated with the Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) led by Humayun Kabir, on September 19 came a day after police nabbed the Congress' Nandigram assembly bypoll nominee Milan Pradhan in an almost two-decades-old case registered during agitation against land acquisition in the region.

The two bypolls slated for October 6 were necessitated after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari vacated Nandigram, which he had won alongside Bhabanipur, while Rejinagar fell vacant after Kabir retained Nawda upon winning both seats in the 2026 assembly elections.

"Officials from Berhampore police station arrested Saiful Islam in connection with a case dating back to the previous assembly election, when a clash had broken out between two groups," an officer told PTI.

The police had on Saturday also sent a notice to the AJUP chief, directing him to appear before investigating officers on Monday in a case registered over an alleged conspiracy to foment tension between two communities.

A senior officer said the case was registered on September 14, after police recently released an audio recording during a press conference in Berhampore. Police claimed the conversation indicated a possible conspiracy to instigate tension between two communities.

Meanwhile, AJUP state secretary Ashik Iqbal was arrested on Friday during vehicle checking at a police picket in Murshidabad district with a large quantity of fake currency and illegal arms, officials said. PTI