Congress candidate Milan Pradhan has been arrested in West Bengal in connection with an old murder case, hours after Mamata Banerjee announced that her faction would support his candidature in the October 6 Nandigram Assembly bypoll.

The arrest came on Friday, September 18, after Mamata Banerjee announced at a press conference at her Kalighat residence that her faction would back the Congress candidate in Nandigram.

Why was Milan Pradhan arrested?

According to the available report, Milan Pradhan was arrested in connection with an old alleged murder case. The report does not provide further details about the case, including the alleged incident, the sections invoked or the circumstances of the arrest.

The arrest therefore comes at a significant point in the Nandigram bypoll, with Pradhan having emerged as the Congress candidate after a series of political developments in the constituency.

Why did Mamata Banerjee support the Congress candidate?

Mamata Banerjee announced support for the Congress candidate after Sanchita Pradhan Dey, who had been fielded by her faction, withdrew from the Nandigram contest.

According to the report, Pradhan Dey withdrew her candidature after a meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. Mamata subsequently announced that her faction would support the Congress candidate in the October 6 Nandigram Assembly bypoll.

The development placed Milan Pradhan at the centre of the latest political developments surrounding the Nandigram election.

Nandigram bypoll scheduled for October 6

The Nandigram Assembly bypoll is scheduled for October 6. The constituency has drawn attention ahead of the election following changes involving candidates and the political support announced by Mamata Banerjee’s faction.

With Milan Pradhan’s arrest now reported, the Congress candidate’s legal case is likely to become another important development in the run-up to the bypoll.

Congress leader and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has criticised the Election Commission after it froze the Trinamool Congress’ election symbol ahead of the upcoming West Bengal bypolls.

Rahul Gandhi accused the poll panel of “colluding” with the BJP and linked the development to his broader allegations concerning “vote chori”. The remarks came a day after the Election Commission froze the Trinamool Congress’ “flower” symbol amid competing claims from two factions of the party.

The two factions are led by former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on one side and a group involving Ritabrata Banerjee and others on the other. Neither faction can use the party’s existing symbol for the Nandigram and Rejinagar bypolls scheduled for October 6.

What Rahul Gandhi said

Rahul Gandhi drew parallels with earlier disputes involving the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party while alleging a similar pattern in the Trinamool Congress case.

He alleged that the BJP and Election Commission work together to split political parties and take away their election symbols.

Gandhi also said the Election Commission’s constitutional responsibility was to protect the people’s mandate. He accused the poll panel of instead helping forces that, according to him, overturn electoral verdicts.

Backing Mamata Banerjee, Gandhi said the issue was not only her fight but also concerned political parties and voters seeking free and fair elections. He also connected the TMC dispute with his repeated allegations of “vote chori”.

Why the Election Commission froze the TMC symbol

The Election Commission’s interim action followed competing claims over control of the recognised political party.

According to the poll panel, a substantive determination under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation & Allotment) Order, 1968, is required to decide which group represents the recognised party. The interim arrangement will remain in place until that determination.

Both groups were asked to submit three preferred party names and three free symbols by 11 am on September 18 for the upcoming bypolls.

The Election Commission’s proceedings involve rival claims over the party’s organisational control, name and election symbol. The dispute emerged after the Trinamool Congress split following its defeat in the West Bengal Assembly election in May, according to the report.

Reference to Shiv Sena and NCP disputes

Rahul Gandhi also referred to earlier disputes involving the Shiv Sena and NCP, where rival factions had contested control over the parties and their election symbols.

In those cases, the factions led by Eknath Shinde and the late Ajit Pawar received the respective party names and symbols, while the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions continued with new party names and symbols.

A UN-backed group of independent experts has said there are reasonable grounds to believe US forces committed war crimes during the conflict with Iran, citing two airstrikes that caused civilian deaths.

The UN-backed fact-finding mission, in a report submitted to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, examined a strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab and another attack in Lamerd.

What the UN report said about the school strike

The mission said a Tomahawk cruise missile strike on the primary school in Minab in late February killed more than 150 people.

According to the report, the mission found reasonable grounds to believe the United States committed the war crime of launching indiscriminate attacks that resulted in civilian deaths or injuries or damage to civilian objects.

The Minab strike has previously been the subject of investigations into how the school was identified as a target. Earlier reports cited evidence suggesting the strike was carried out by US forces, while the Pentagon has said the incident was under investigation.

Another US strike examined by UN mission

The fact-finding mission also examined a separate US strike in Lamerd.

It said the attack dispersed clouds of tungsten pellets over a sports complex and a residential area, killing 22 people.

The report’s findings are not legally binding, but they could contribute to future efforts to establish accountability through international legal mechanisms, according to the report.

Pentagon investigation remains ongoing

The Pentagon has previously said the Minab incident was being investigated.

A Pentagon official said on Thursday that the investigation was still ongoing and declined to comment on the report from the UN-backed outside organisation.

The report also noted that investigators had previously examined possible failures surrounding the Minab strike, including problems with US intelligence systems and information about the site being used as a school.

UN panel also accuses Iran

The UN-backed mission’s report did not focus only on alleged US violations.

It also accused the Iranian government of gross human rights violations and crimes against humanity, including in connection with violent crackdowns on Iranian protesters.

The White House rejected the UN findings and accused Iran of committing war crimes, including attacks against neighbouring countries and other actions during the conflict.