TMC block president’s visit to BJP office sparks protests, arrest in Durgapur
The Statesman | 29 May 2026
In a dramatic turn of events in Durgapur, Trinamool Congress block president Rajib Ghosh was arrested after hundreds of BJP supporters gathered outside a party office where he had allegedly gone seeking help from local BJP leaders.
According to local sources, Ghosh, the TMC block president of Durgapur No 1 block, visited the BJP’s Tansen party office in DSP Township late on Wednesday night. News of his arrival quickly spread, prompting a large number of BJP supporters to assemble outside the office and demand his arrest.
The situation soon turned tense, with slogan-shouting and protests continuing outside the party office. Police personnel, along with central forces, rushed to the spot and escorted Ghosh from the area before taking him to the B-Zone police outpost under Durgapur Police Station in the Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate.
Sources said Ghosh had gone to meet Santosh Mukherjee, the BJP convenor for the Durgapur East Assembly constituency.
BJP supporters alleged that Ghosh was involved in incidents of violence against opposition party workers after the 2021 Assembly elections.
Party workers claimed that fear of the ruling party had prevented them from filing complaints against him earlier.
A BJP woman worker alleged that during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Ghosh and several others had entered their booth camp on Tansen Road in Durgapur and assaulted party workers.
On Thursday, police produced Ghosh before the Durgapur Sub-Divisional Court amid heavy security arrangements. Hundreds of BJP supporters gathered outside the court premises and raised slogans against him.
Neither the BJP nor the TMC had issued any official statement in the West Burdwan district regarding the arrest till the filing of this report.
The TMC recently lost all three Assembly seats in the Durgapur subdivision, including Pandaveswar, Durgapur East and Durgapur West.