Dilip Mondal, the Trinamool Congress legislator from Bishnupur (SC) Assembly constituency in West Bengal, was arrested by the Special Task Force (STF) from a hotel in Odisha’s Puri. Mondal, who had been evading arrest after facing multiple FIRs, was brought to Kolkata and remanded to 10 days of police custody by a lower court. The public prosecutor highlighted Mondal’s alleged involvement in voter intimidation during the recent West Bengal Assembly elections.
Mondal faced charges of corruption, extortion, and creating fear in his locality. The public prosecutor mentioned Mondal’s connections with the previous ruling party in West Bengal that aided his evasion of arrest. Police invoked 11 non-bailable sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, in the FIRs against Mondal. A viral video allegedly showed Mondal threatening workers of another political party, leading to a police complaint against him.
Following complaints of intimidation, police raided Mondal’s residence on May 14 in South 24 Parganas district but did not find him there. Mondal had reportedly fled upon learning about the raid. Despite search operations, his whereabouts remained unknown until the STF received information about his stay at a Puri hotel. STF personnel, with Diamond Harbour Police, confirmed Mondal’s presence in Puri after checking the hotel register.
