Calcutta HC to hear Cong's Nandigram bypoll candidate's protection plea on September 22

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court will on Tuesday hear an application by Congress' Nandigram bypoll candidate Milan Pradhan seeking protection from coercive action in five cases registered against him.

Pradhan is already in judicial custody in five other cases for which he did not make any prayer before the high court at this stage, his lawyer said.

Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya granted permission to Pradhan's lawyer to file the petition seeking protection from coercive action in the additional five criminal cases registered against him.


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The court said it will hear Pradhan's application on Tuesday.

His lawyer Ayan Bhattacharjee stated before the court that the Congress candidate for the Nandigram bypoll was arrested on September 18 in connection with a case and then shown arrested in four more cases.

Bhattacharjee stated that there were five additional cases against him, which Pradhan mentioned in his affidavit before the Election Commission, and he was seeking protection from this court in relation to those.

He stated that the election date is October 6 and the last day for campaigning is October 4.

Pradhan was sent to judicial custody till October 3 by a court in Haldia in Purba Medinipur district on Saturday, a day after his arrest on multiple charges, including murder, that date back 19 years.

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This effectively ends Pradhan's opportunity to canvass for himself in the bypoll to the Nandigram assembly seat vacated by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.

Adhikari resigned from the Nandigram seat in May, opting to retain Bhabanipur after defeating Mamata Banerjee in the assembly poll held earlier this year.

The West Bengal Police said Pradhan was arrested based on four pending arrest warrants for his alleged involvement in non-bailable cases related to murder, attempt to murder, abduction with intent to murder, causing disappearance of evidence, house trespass, rioting with arms and deadly weapons, all of which were filed during the 2007 anti-land acquisition movement in Nandigram.