Kolkata, May 18: Jahangir Khan, the Trinamool Congress candidate from the Falta Assembly seat in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district, has filed for anticipatory bail in the Calcutta High Court. He fears arrest before the re-voting scheduled for May 21.
The single-judge bench led by Justice Sougata Bhattacharya has accepted his application, with the hearing set for Monday afternoon after 2 PM.
In his plea, Khan claims that the police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) against him based on fabricated charges. He has requested the court to direct the state government to disclose how many FIRs have been filed against him and the specific allegations contained within them.
Khan expressed concern about the possibility of being arrested before the voting day.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari held a meeting in Falta on Saturday. He made a pointed remark about Khan, who is considered a close associate of Trinamool Congress General Secretary and Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee, stating that action would be taken against Khan after the re-voting concludes.
Voting for the Falta Assembly seat took place on April 29, during the second phase of the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly elections. On that day, multiple complaints of electoral fraud were reported. In several booths, white tape was placed next to the names and symbols of BJP candidates on the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) buttons. Following this, special election observer Subrata Gupta, who is currently an advisor to Chief Minister Adhikari, visited Falta and conducted a thorough investigation.
Based on his investigation report, the Election Commission of India (ECI) ordered re-voting across the entire Falta Assembly constituency. The re-voting will occur on May 21, with results to be announced on May 24.
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