The West Bengal Special Task Force (STF) on Wednesday arrested Trinamool Congress MLA Dilip Mondal from Puri in Odisha in connection with cases registered against him for allegedly threatening BJP workers at a rally. The Bishnupur MLA had been on the run after the police had raided his Pailan residence.
Multiple FIRs had been lodged against Mondal after a video allegedly showing him issuing threats to BJP workers during a victory rally held at Malanga near Baruipur on May 11 went viral on social media. His speech was streamed live on Facebook, in which he was purportedly heard saying: “We have shown a lot of restraint. We kept peace for 15 years. But this won’t happen again.”
On Wednesday, acting on a tip-off, STF officials raided Hotel Lily in Puri. According to police sources, the STF and the Odisha Police surrounded the hotel to prevent Mondal from escaping.
The hotel manager said that initially, officers in plain clothes enquired about Mondal by showing his photograph. Once his identity was confirmed after staff showed the Aadhaar card submitted at check-in, they called Mondal out of his room, where the police immediately took him into custody. Mondal will be brought back to Kolkata and produced in court, where police are expected to seek his custody.
Earlier, Mondal had moved the Calcutta High Court seeking protection. However, police and STF teams continued searches across multiple locations. On May 14, the police raided Mondal’s lavish Pailan residence, spread across several acres with manicured lawns, a swimming pool, luxury vehicles, decorative fountains, artificial caves, glass enclosures, statues, swings, etc. But Mondal was allegedly caught escaping from the house on CCTV.
Mondal’s arrest comes days after his son, Arghya, was arrested along with five others from the Bakkhali-Fraserganj area in South 24 Parganas for allegedly possessing firearms on May 18. The police claimed that two pistols and six mobile phones were seized from the accused. All six were later brought to Diamond Harbour police station for questioning. The police also alleged that Arghya had been threatening BJP workers and supporters in the area.