Kolkata: The Hooghly Rural District Police in West Bengal arrested Uttam Kundu, the former chief of Tarakeswar Municipality, who had been absconding, said officials on Thursday.

Kundu, currently part of the rebel faction of the Trinamool Congress led by Ritabrata Banerjee, was arrested on various charges, including corruption and extortion.

He will be presented at a district court in Hooghly later on Thursday.

Kundu was absconding for quite some time. After being tipped off by their sources, a team from the Hooghly Rural District Police reached Kolkata late Wednesday night and arrested him from a hideout in the city.

A state police officer said that Kundu was accused of extorting Rs 40 lakh from a Kolkata-based businessman, Rajesh Agarwal, during the previous Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress regime. He is also accused of forcibly occupying an under-construction flat and also has charges of involvement in illegal land-grabbing.

It is learnt that based on a complaint filed by Agarwal after the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly polls, in which the Trinamool Congress faced a landslide defeat, the Hooghly Rural District Police registered an FIR against the former Tarakeswar Municipality chairman. Since then, Kundu has been absconding.

At one point, Kundu was the president of the Trinamool Congress’ trade union wing, Indian National Trinamool Trade Union Congress (INTTUC), and Ritabrata Banerjee was its state president.

Hence, after the Assembly polls, when Trinamool Congress split into two factions — one led by former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the other by Ritabrata Banerjee — Kundu promptly joined the second group.

For his loyalty, Kundu was made the president of the rebel faction in the Arambagh organisational district. However, despite joining the rebel faction, Kundu maintained that he still considered Mamata Banerjee as his supreme leader.

Kolkata: Tension broke out at Jadavpur University (JU) campus in South Kolkata on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday over clashes between the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), the CPI(M)’s students’ wing and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

The tension between the two rival students’ unions erupted over the general body meeting of the Faculty of Engineering and Technology Students’ Union (FETSU).

The SFI has claimed that the ABVP has been trying to take control over the JU since the formation of the new state government in West Bengal, mobilised outsiders within the university campus and resorted to vandalism.

The ABVP, on the other hand, has accused the SFI, assisted by activists of the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist)- affiliated Democratic Students’ Organisation (DSO), of launching an attack on the ABVP office-bearers inside the campus in the guise of a general body meeting.

Some of the students injured in the clashes are currently under treatment at the nearby K.P.C. Medical College and Hospital.

The local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator from Jadavpur Assembly Constituency, Sarbori Mukherjee, an actress-turned-politician, arrived at the hospital on Thursday morning to enquire about the injured students admitted there.

Both the rival groups have lodged FIRs at the local Jadavpur Police Station over the incident. At the same time, both the rival students’ wings have announced massive protest demonstrations on Thursday over the issue within the campus.

At the time the report was filed, no one had been arrested in connection with the clashes that broke out in the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday.

According to the ABVP’s central working committee member, Subhabrata Adhikari, the attack on their office-bearers was orchestrated not just by SFI activists but also by students affiliated to other Left-wing student groups, including those having links with Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) groups.

On the other hand, SFI’s general secretary, Srijan Bhattacharya, said the SFI was nowhere to be found in the entire mess. “What I heard is that the ABVP activists aided by local BJP associates resorted to vandalism within the campus. Why is ABVP so scared to face elections and democratically take control of the students’ body in JU?” Bhattacharya questioned.

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Transport Department has initiated action to cancel or suspend the permits of around 400 auto-rickshaws allegedly used to block roads during an ongoing protest by app-based cab drivers and bike riders at Master Canteen Square in Bhubaneswar, said an official on Thursday.

The road blockade and alleged vandalism by unruly protesters disrupted normal traffic in the area for some time in the master canteen square area on Wednesday.

Several government properties, including CRUT/Ama Bus vehicles, were reportedly damaged during the incident. Based on police records, CCTV footage and preliminary examination of seizure lists, authorities identified and seized more than 400 auto-rickshaws allegedly used to obstruct the road. The Transport Department said the use of vehicles for such illegal activities amounts to a violation of permit conditions.

Accordingly, proceedings have been initiated under Section 86(1)(b) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, for suspension or cancellation of the permits. The Bhubaneswar-I RTO has issued show-cause notices to the registered owners and permit holders of the vehicles concerned.

They have been asked to provide details regarding who was in control of the vehicles during the incident and whether they were used with the owners’ permission, direction or knowledge.

The vehicle owners have been directed to submit written explanations along with the required documents within the stipulated deadline and appear before the RTO for a personal hearing. If no response is received within the prescribed period, or if the concerned persons fail to appear, the authorities may take a decision on permit suspension or cancellation based on the available records.

The Transport Department clarified that the action against the vehicle permits will not affect any separate criminal or other legal proceedings related to the incident.

On Thursday, the Commissionerate Police informed that 113 protesters have so far been arrested and forwarded to court in this case.

The Police seized 354 auto-rickshaws involved in the violent protest.

Similarly, 60 protesting online cab service drivers have been released on bond of good behaviour.

A total of seven cases have been registered in this regard at the Kharavel Nagar Police Station, said officials on Thursday.

The commissionerate police again warned that strong action will be taken against anyone taking the law into their hands. Notably, the app-based cab drivers and bike riders in Odisha have been holding protests in Bhubaneswar over several demands for the last couple of days.

However, the protest turned violent on Wednesday after the drivers staged a road blockade at bustling Master Canteen Square by keeping their auto-rickshaws on the road.

They clashed with police when the latter tried to clear the blockade by removing the vehicles. The protesters pelted stones at police and damaged some public buses at the spot.

The police later resorted to a mild baton charge to bring the situation under control.