Kolkata, May 27 (IANS) The West Bengal Police on Wednesday detained the absconding Trinamool Congress MLA Dilip Mondal from Puri in Odisha.

Dilip Mondal is an MLA from Bishnupur constituency in South 24 Parganas district. The Special Task Force (STF) of West Bengal Police detained him from a hotel in Puri.

According to the police, at present Mondal is being brought to Kolkata on a transit remand.

Recently, a video of the Bishnupur MLA went viral on social media, the authenticity of which could not be verified by IANS.

It is alleged that Dilip threatened the workers and supporters of another party in the video. A complaint was filed against the MLA at a police station over the incident.

Based on the allegations of intimidation, the police registered a case under non-bailable sections and started an investigation.

In aid of that investigation, a raid was conducted at the MLA’s palatial house in Pailan of South 24 Parganas district on May 14, but he was not found at home at that time.

According to local sources, he fled from his house after getting news of the police’s arrival.

Since then, Dilip had been in hiding and the police started a search operation at various places. However, his whereabouts could not be ascertained.

According to the police, a couple of days ago, the STF of the state police came to know that Dilip was holed up in a hotel in Puri.

Based on that information, the STF and Diamond Harbour Police reached that hotel in Puri and Dilip’s presence was confirmed by checking with the registrar there.

After that, the police raided his hotel room and detained him.

It may be noted that on May 17, the police had arrested five people, including the MLA’s son Arghya Mondal.

According to a senior police officer of Diamond Harbour district police, Arghya was arrested with firearms. He is accused of creating unrest in the area.

The STF of West Bengal Police and Diamond Harbour District Police officers had launched a joint operation to search for the MLA’s son. Five people, including Arghya, were arrested from the Bakkhali-Fraserganj area near the Bay of Bengal.

–IANS

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