Former CPI(M) minister accused of murder arrested

Midnapore: Former CPI(M) minister Susanta Ghosh, a key accused in a case of murder, was arrested on Thursday by the CID after a local court rejected his anticipatory bail.

Chief Judicial Magistrate (Midnapore), Manoj Rai dismissed the conditional bail granted by the court on July 26 to Ghosh, the former Paschim Anchal Unnayan Affairs minister.

The bail was rejected by the magistrate after a report by the CID that the DNA of two out of seven skeletons dug up from near the former minister's residence matched those of the two missing Trinamool Congress supporters, Ajoy Acharya and Raju Sinha.

The magistrate remanded Ghosh to CID custody for seven days.

The interrogation of the former minister, who would be taken to Kolkata, would begin on Thursday night, police said.

Seven skeletons were dug up from near Ghosh's ancestral house at Benachapra in the Garbeta police station area in West Midnapore district on June 2.

An FIR had been filed against the former minister on June 4 at the Anandpur police station after Ajoy Acharya's son claimed that he had recognised his father from the clothes on one of the skeletons.

He alleged that his father was among seven Trinamool Congress workers who were abducted by CPI(M) cadre after a meeting at Piyasala village in 2002. The seven have been missing since then.

On August 9, the Midnapore court had granted Ghosh, the MLA from Garbeta, who had been on conditional anticipatory bail since July 26, a deadline till Thursday after his counsel pleaded for more time.

Police had to resort to a lathicharge to disperse a mob which had gathered in the court compound demanding Ghosh's arrest and the rejection of his anticipatory bail, when he was brought to the court in the afternoon, officials said.

The mob threw stones at the police injuring a constable. They also damaged a police vehicle, they said.

Earlier, the Calcutta High Court had granted conditional anticipatory bail to the former minister on July 18.

On July 24, Ghosh's confidential assistant, Debashish Pyne was arrested in the case from the central bus stand in Midnapore town.

A local CPI(M) leader Gunadhar Rana, was earlier arrested by the CID in the case from Anandapur area in the district.

Also arrested was Sheikh Saiful, another CPI(M) local leader, who was in custody of the police in an Arms Act case.