TMC MLA held In Puri for threatening BJP workers during Bengal assembly polls

Debabrata.MohapatraBhubaneswar: West Bengal police on Wednesday arrested TMC MLA Dilip Mondal from a beachside hotel in Puri for alleged involvement in cases related to intimidation and threats against BJP workers during the recently concluded assembly elections.Mondal was rounded up from the hotel lobby by a joint team of West Bengal and Puri police just as he was preparing to check out and shift to another hotel in Baliapanda area.“We provided all necessary assistance to West Bengal police in tracing the suspect, who had checked in (at the hotel) with an associate on Tuesday," Puri SP, Prateek Singh told TOI.Escorted on transit remand to West Bengal, Mondal claimed he was being framed.

"BJP is playing vendetta politics. Since I have been vocal against their top leaders, they took revenge by arresting me," he told reporters in Puri.Earlier, apprehending his possible escape, nearly 30 officers — including 20 from Puri police — surrounded the hotel.“He had checked in under his associate's name. The moment he came down to complete check-out formalities, he was taken into custody. There was no resistance.

He had already booked another hotel near the beach for Wednesday,” a Puri police officer said.Sources said Mondal reached Puri by train about a week back and had been switching hotels to avoid detection. His hide-out in Puri was reportedly confirmed after West Bengal police received a tip-off from one of his close associates in Kolkata.Mondal's arrest follows that of his son Arghya on May 18 in Bakkhali-Fraserganj for allegedly possessing illegal firearms.