Nandigram: Congress’s Nandigram bypoll candidate Milan Pradhan was slapped with another case on Sunday – taking the case count against him to five. Following this, Congress said it would move Calcutta High Court seeking Pradhan’s bail.Pradhan is already in judicial custody until Oct 3 in three 2007 cases registered during the land acquisition movement that implicate him for murder, among other charges, registered at Nandigram police station. On Saturday, Khejuri police submitted an arrest warrant in a fourth case, and Nandigram cops filed another on Sunday. Pradhan is scheduled to be produced before both Contai and Haldia sub-divisional courts on Monday.Speaking on this, West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson Ajitesh Pandey said, “Milan Pradhan is being deliberately entangled in one legal hassle after another. He was arrested right before the Nandigram bypoll in a 19-year-old case, and police are continually filing new warrants. We will approach the Calcutta High Court for his bail either on Monday or Tuesday.”Pandey alleged, “Given the fresh cases filed, his stepping out of jail before the election seems doubtful.”He went on to say, “Nearly 40 individuals were named in almost every case. Police claim they couldn’t trace 20 of them. Of the remaining 20, how is it that the police only managed to find Milan Pradhan?”Pandey added, “The original complainants themselves had expressed a desire to withdraw these cases. In 2025, Trinamool reopened these files to target Suvendu Adhikari (then the leader of opposition) and his aides. Today, that very weapon is being used against Milan.”Speaking on the party’s possible legal strategy in HC, a Congress senior said, “We will ask why it was necessary to arrest Pradhan 19 years after the incident, particularly after he physically submitted his nomination at the Haldia SDO’s office and was actively campaigning in Nandigram.”“Pradhan could have reported to the police station whenever summoned for investigation, yet police chose to arrest him,” the neta added.Speaking on how this has hit Congress’s campaign, Pandey said, “Congress is yet to launch its campaign in Nandigram, with workers preoccupied with the legal trouble. However, Milan’s election agent and workers will soon hit the ground for booth-level campaigning. Congress will pour its full strength into the electoral fight as well.”
