Uttam Kundu, former Tarakeswar Municipality chief, arrested

The Hooghly Rural District Police in West Bengal have arrested Uttam Kundu, the former chief of Tarakeswar Municipality, following a period of being absconding. Kundu was apprehended at a hideout in Kolkata late Wednesday night.

Kundu faces multiple charges, including corruption, extortion, illegal land-grabbing, and the forcible occupation of an under-construction flat. Specifically, he is accused of extorting Rs 40 lakh from a Kolkata-based businessman, Rajesh Agarwal. The FIR was registered following a complaint by Agarwal after the recent West Bengal Assembly elections.

Kundu is a member of the Trinamool Congress rebel faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee, having served as the president of the Indian National Trinamool Trade Union Congress (INTTUC). Despite his affiliation with the faction led by Banerjee, Kundu has stated he still considers Mamata Banerjee his supreme leader.