Trinamool leaders face arrests, public anger, return extorted money

Ever since the change of regime in West Bengal, several Trinamool Congress leaders have found themselves on the wrong side of the law, facing charges ranging from corruption to involvement in violence.

The police in Krishnanagar arrested Sarajit Biswas, a panchayat functionary, on charges of extorting money from several factories and workers. Over the past seven days, multiple Trinamool Congress leaders at the gram panchayat level have been arrested. Another party leader, Rajdeep De, the pradhan of Kamarpukur panchayat in Hooghly district, was arrested from Tarakershwar on charges of extortion. While both leaders claimed political vendetta, police said they had received specific complaints against them.

Raju Panrui, a councillor from Baidyabati in Hooghly district, was arrested on charges of threatening BJP supporters during the recently concluded Assembly polls. Other arrests include panchayat pradhan Smritikana Mondal and her husband Anil Mondal from Billaimari in Ratua block of Malda district, accused of misappropriating ₹13 crore from a local co-operative bank. The police also arrested Saddam Sheikh, a Trinamool trade union leader, on charges of extorting money from e-rickshaw drivers.

In Falta, South 24 Parganas, where re-elections are scheduled for May 21, the police arrested Saidul Khan, vice-president of Falta Panchayat Samity and close aide of Jahangir Khan, the Trinamool candidate in the elections.

From Cooch Behar in the north to South 24 Parganas in the south, arrests have been made in almost all districts of West Bengal. The crackdown intensified after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday (May 16, 2026) urged people to file complaints against those who had allegedly extorted money from them during the previous Trinamool Congress regime.

In Howrah district’s Amta, a large group of angry villagers, particularly women, protested and tried to vandalise the house of Kachmuli panchayat pradhan Anjali Dalui. Locals claimed that they had lodged multiple complaints against Anjali Dalui and her husband, Tarun Dalui, an influential local Trinamool leader, over allegations that they were compelled to pay bribes to the panchayat pradhan to access funds under the Awas Yojana and secure work under the ‘100-day’ rural employment scheme.

In another incident in Birbhum’s Nanoor area, two Trinamool leaders of Kankalitala gram panchayat — Mamoon Sheikh and Alef Sheikh — returned money allegedly collected as “penalties” from BJP supporters after the 2021 Assembly polls. Eleven BJP supporters reportedly received refunds.

Addressing a public meeting in Falta on Sunday (May 17, 2026), State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said that the Trinamool Congress would cease to exist as a party in the years to come.

In another development, a large number of Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) were found scattered in a field in Kirnahar village, Birbhum district, on Sunday (May 17, 2026). The field is adjacent to the residence of a former Booth Level Officer (BLO), Hiranyaprabha Mete Maji. The ex-BLO, who earlier served in Purba Bardhaman district’s Ketugram block, was questioned by police over the matter.

Meanwhile, over a hundred Aadhaar cards, along with PAN cards and land-related documents, were recovered from a Trinamool Congress party office in Bidhannagar.

BJP leaders have alleged on several occasions that Trinamool leaders had collected Aadhaar cards and other documents like MGNREGA job cards and stored them in local offices. Following the change of regime after the recently concluded 2026 Assembly polls, several Trinamool party offices have reportedly been opened by locals and BJP workers, with some even occupied by BJP supporters, despite senior party leaders like Samik Bhattachrarya urging party supporters not to take over Trinamool Congress party offices.