Kolkata, Sep 30 (IANS): Milan Pradhan, the Congress candidate for the forthcoming bypoll for the Nandigram Assembly Constituency in East Midnapore district of West Bengal, on Wednesday accused the state police of pressuring him to withdraw his nomination.
Milan, who was arrested earlier this month in an old murder case registered against him in 2007, was granted interim bail by the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday. However, he was released from the correctional home on Wednesday afternoon after completing the necessary paperwork and formalities.
After leaving the correctional home in Haldia, East Midnapore district, on Wednesday, he spoke to the media. He accused the state police of pressuring him to withdraw his nomination.
“On September 18, some police officers in civil dress picked me up from Chandipur while I was campaigning,” Milan said.
According to him, the police blindfolded him and took him by car to a hotel in Mandarmani, where he was asked to withdraw his nomination. He further alleged that he was offered anything he wanted in return for withdrawing his nomination.
He said he was not officially arrested at that stage.
“When I refused to withdraw my nomination, I was taken back to Chandipur and officially arrested there,” he said.
However, the East Midnapore district police had not reacted to Milan’s allegations at the time of filing this report.
Reacting to the state government’s move to approach the Supreme Court against the Calcutta High Court’s decision to grant him bail, Milan said the state government would not succeed before the apex court.
On Tuesday, the Calcutta High Court’s single-judge Bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh granted Milan interim bail till October 20.
The bypolls for the Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly constituencies in Murshidabad district will be held on October 6, while vote counting will take place on October 9.
