Supporters swarm expelled TMC ex-MLA’s residence

Police continued to raid different areas today in connection with the deaths but has made no arrest so far.

Arabul Islam remained incommunicado

A day after former Trinamool Congress MLA Arabul Islam was formally expelled from the party following two deaths in intra-party rivalry, he remained unreachable on the phone but reportedly met his supporters at his Gajipur residence in Bhangar, South 24-Parganas.
Since 11.30 am, people had started trickling in at Arabul’s residence and by 12.30, there were seven SUVs and two hatchbacks, which carried over three dozen of his men, parked outside his house. Some men were even posted outside his residence to keep mediapersons and other “unwanted persons” at bay.

“Dada is at a meeting near Polerhat and would be back late in the evening,” said one of the men posted outside the house and asked another to use force, if need be, to keep journalists away. Some of Arabul’s relatives, however, conceded that he was inside the house.

“He is under a lot of pressure and is not coming out of the house or talking to any outsider. After his expulsion from the party, there had been a lot of uncomfortable questions from different quarters. He feels the party, for which he does so much, has meted out an unfair treatment to him. He is meeting his men to perhaps plan his next strategy,” said Mir Akhter, one of his relatives.

One of the workers at the cigarette shop outside his house said, “It must be an important meeting. I have run out cigarettes. I have to ask customers to go to the nearest shop at Hatkhola.”

Meanwhile, police continued to raid different areas today in connection with the deaths but has made no arrest so far.

“Continuous raids have been carried out at different places and there would be more arrests soon. However, there has been no formal complaint against Arabul here, so we don’t intend to arrest him immediately. The last case registered against him was that of the violence against (expelled CPM leader) Rezzak Mollah, the chargesheet of which has been submitted,” said a senior official of Kolkata Leather Complex PS.

Another officer of the PS said they conducted so many raids on the day that there was no vehicle available to ferry officers to a tannery where a fire had broken out. “There are instructions from top officials to arrest offenders from both groups which had clashed on October 25, leaving two dead,” he said.

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