Kolkata, Nov 10 (IANS) Trinamool Congress legislator from Canning (Paschim) Assembly Constituency in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, Pares Ram Das, arrested in a rape case, will be presented at a district court on Tuesday afternoon.
An insider from the Bariuipur Police District in South 24 Parganas district, whose Special Operations Group arrested Das from the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata on Monday as he was attempting to escape to Mumbai, said that after being presented at the district court later in the day, the public prosecutor will seek his police custody.
“Besides the main case of rape, there are several other charges against Das, and there is a requirement for his sustained interrogation in all these cases. So, a police custody will be sought,” said the district police officer.
After being arrested on Monday evening, police took Das to the lockup at Narendrapur Police Station under Baruipur Police District. The district police officers said the arrested legislator had spent the entire night sitting on the lock-up floor without consuming anything apart from the medicines that had been prescribed by his doctor.
Throughout the night, the district police officer said he kept requesting the on-duty police officers to shift him to Sonarpur Police Station, also under the Baruipur Police District.
Das, an accused in a high-profile rape and extortion case, had been evading law enforcement agencies for 17 days and repeatedly failed to respond to summons issued by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the West Bengal Police.
The investigation originates from a complaint filed in September this year with the Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) of Canning.
The victim alleged that before the 2023 panchayat elections, Das demanded Rs 4 lakh from her husband under the pretext of securing an election ticket. When the woman visited an old-age home managed by the legislator to deliver the money, Das allegedly extorted the funds, locked her inside, and raped her.
The complainant further alleged that when she initially approached the Canning Police Station in 2023, officers refused to register an FIR.
Instead, she and her family were subjected to harassment, threats, and a bomb attack on their residence carried out by Das and his associates.
The victim stated that she gained the courage to pursue legal action following the recent political regime change in West Bengal.
Following the registration of the case in September, CID sleuths questioned Das once. However, the legislator went missing during the last week of October. Police subsequently raided his residence in Canning and arrested four Trinamool local leaders, while initiating a manhunt for the absconding lawmaker.
Das is among the few sitting Trinamool legislators maintaining allegiance to the faction led by former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
–IANS
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