Pradhan, the Congress nominee for the October 6 Nandigram Assembly by-election, was produced before the Haldia Subdivisional Court on Saturday, a day after his arrest. Police said the action followed four pending non-bailable warrants issued in cases registered at Nandigram and Khejuri police stations.
Three of the warrants relate to cases registered at Nandigram police station, while a fourth stems from a case at Khejuri. Pradhan’s counsel said he would be produced before a Contai court on Monday in connection with the Khejuri warrant.
Police said the cases include allegations of murder, attempt to murder, abduction with intent to murder, causing disappearance of evidence, house trespass, rioting with arms and deadly weapons, and offences under provisions of the Arms Act. The allegations arise from violence associated with the 2007 movement against proposed land acquisition in Nandigram.
Police identified the four warrants as arising from three Nandigram police station cases dated April 30, November 8 and November 15, 2007, and one Khejuri police station case dated July 30 that year. The force said the accused had been chargesheeted as an absconder in the proceedings. The defence has challenged the circumstances in which the dormant cases returned to consideration, while prosecutors relied on the outstanding warrants before seeking custody.
Purba Medinipur district police said Pradhan had been shown as an absconder in chargesheets and had evaded the legal process for 19 years. It said earlier attempts to execute the warrants had failed and that his arrest formed part of a special drive to enforce long-pending non-bailable warrants ahead of elections.
The police also cited standing Election Commission instructions calling for execution of such warrants during elections and by-elections. Pradhan was arrested on Friday within the limits of Chandipur police station in Purba Medinipur district.
Pradhan’s lawyer Ajitesh Pandey disputed the prosecution’s account of the handling of the old cases, saying several people had faced warrants and that the cases had at one stage been withdrawn before litigation was initiated in the Calcutta High Court. He also said the defence had not been supplied with all case documents. The court, however, declined the bail application and ordered judicial custody.
The remand means Pradhan will remain in custody through almost the entire remaining campaign period if the order is not altered by another court. Polling in Nandigram is scheduled for October 6, while counting will take place on October 9. The Election Commission’s schedule set September 19 as the last date for withdrawal of nominations.
The arrest has acquired political significance because it came hours after former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced that her faction would support Pradhan in the by-election. Her faction’s candidate, Sanchita Pradhan Dey, withdrew from the contest on Friday, leaving the Congress nominee as the candidate receiving its backing.
Congress leaders have alleged that the timing of the arrest was politically motivated. Banerjee’s faction has also criticised the action. The BJP has rejected those allegations and said the matter concerns pending criminal proceedings. No court has ruled on the competing political claims surrounding the timing of the arrest.
West Bengal Congress president Subhankar Sarkar said the party would continue its campaign despite Pradhan’s incarceration. He said voters might not see Pradhan personally on the campaign trail but would still see the Congress symbol, and party workers would campaign across the constituency.
The Nandigram by-election was called after Suvendu Adhikari, who won both Nandigram and Bhabanipur in the 2026 Assembly election, vacated the Nandigram seat. The Election Commission announced the bypoll on September 7 as part of a set of vacancies to be filled on October 6.
