Arrest warrant issued against Union minister Nisith Pramanik
The Union government has, for quite some time now, been at loggerheads with the ruling party in Bengal. The general view among many, including both Trinamool Congress and political experts, is that the party is being targeted in other ways, like using Central agencies for harassing leaders, for its political opposition to the BJP.
Now one of the BJP’s own leaders, and that too a Union minister, is in the docks. It came to light yesterday night that an arrest warrant has been issued by the Alipurduar Judicial Third Court against the Cooch Behar leader and Union Minister of State for Home Nisith Pramanik.
The court order was issued on the 11th, that is, last Friday but the news came to light only last night.
The case relates to the theft of jewellery from two jewellery shops in Alipurduar in 2009. According to the public prosecutor P Narayan Majumdar, talking to The Indian Express, the arrest warrant was issued “under IPC sections 457 (house trespass), 383 (extortion), 411 (dishonestly receiving stolen property), among others”.
The issue was initially taken up a special MP/MLA court in Barasat in North 24 Parganas district, but later shifted to the Alipurduar court on the Calcutta High Court’s directions.
Majumdar also said that there are other accused persons as well, but while they moved bail petitions, Pramanik did not.
According to sources, the minister is now in Delhi. No comments have come from him yet.
