Kolkata, September 29 (Daily Kiran) : The Kolkata High Court‘s single-judge bench has granted interim bail to Milan Pradhan, the Congress candidate for the Nandigram assembly seat by-election, until October 20. Justice Tirthankar Ghosh made it clear that the bail was issued to allow Pradhan to campaign freely, just like other candidates. This interim relief pertains to all six cases filed against him.
Pradhan was previously in judicial custody related to two murder cases from 2007, linked to the land acquisition protests in Nandigram during the tenure of former Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya’s Left Front government. His judicial custody was set to last until October 5.
While granting bail, Justice Ghosh imposed several conditions. Pradhan must surrender to the Haldia District Court in East Midnapore immediately after the election process concludes. He is also required to call the local police station daily at 8:30 AM and 9:30 PM to report to the investigating officer. The court will hear the case again on October 11.
Pradhan was arrested on September 18, shortly after former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that her Trinamool Congress party would support the Congress candidate in the Nandigram by-election. This announcement followed the dramatic withdrawal of Trinamool’s candidate, Sanchita Dey Pradhan.
This development is viewed as a renewed effort for opposition unity in West Bengal, following Banerjee’s loss in the assembly elections earlier this year. In the assembly elections, the current Chief Minister, Suvendu Adhikari, contested and won from both Nandigram and Bhawanipur but later chose to retain the Bhawanipur seat, necessitating the by-election in Nandigram. The by-elections for Nandigram and the Rejinagar assembly seat in Murshidabad will take place on October 6, with vote counting scheduled for October 9.
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