Bengal CID took into custody two men who had alleged gunned down BJP leader Manish Shukla after the duo had been arrested in Punjab in connection with a robbery at Ludhiana.

Former Titagarh municipal councillor Shukla had been killed in public view on October 4 by motorcycle-borne assailants who fired at least 17 rounds, most of which hit their target.

“The arrested duo were brought to Bengal on transit remand and produced in a Barrackpore court on Friday,” said a source.

Sources in the CID said Punjab police had arrested Sujit Kumar Rai, 26, and Roshan Kumar Yadav, 20, for their alleged complicity in the robbery of 30kg gold from a loan firm on Dungri Road in Ludhiana.

Rai and Yadav are from Samastipur and Vaishali, respectively, in Bihar.

“Both Rai and Yadav were part of the gang that executed the plot to kill Shukla. Both are members of the Subodh Singh gang, which specialises in looting gold loan institutions. The gang is accused of robbing two such institutions in Barrackpore and Asansol. During interrogation in Punjab, they admitted their involvement in the murder,” said a source.

The murder of Shukla became a political issue in Bengal as the BJP and the deceased man’s family pointed fingers at the Trinamul Congress. The state CID, however, found no evidence that suggests the involvement of any ruling party leader in the case.

Police had already arrested three persons, including alleged mastermind Subodh Singh who had purportedly planned the murder from inside a jail in Bihar’s Nalanda. With the fresh arrests, the number increased to five.

Mohammed Khurram — a Titagarh-based businessman who had apparently personal enmity with Shukla — was also arrested.

Another person arrested earlier was Subodh Yadav — who was engaged by mastermind Subodh Singh for providing logistical support to the hired sharp shooters who had come to the city a week before the plan was to be executed, the police said.

The third arrested man was Gulab Sheikh.