Nisith Pramanik, the Union minister of state for home affairs and the BJP MP of Cooch Behar, faced a setback on Thursday as a division bench at the Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench of Calcutta High Court refused to grant him anticipatory bail.

Pramanik had filed an anticipatory bail petition as he was named in connection with an attempt-to-murder case registered with Dinhata police station of Cooch Behar district. The police have an arrest warrant in his name for his alleged role in the case.

Sources said that in 2018, ahead of the panchayat elections, a person was shot at and suffered a bullet wound. Pramanik, who was then with Trinamul, was named in the case.

“The police had recovered the bullet. That is why sections of the Arms Act were also included in the case. An arrest warrant is pending in Nisith Pramanik’s name and police can execute the warrant till May this year,” said Aditi Shankar Chakraborty, the government lawyer.

The division bench comprising Justice Surya Prakash Kesarwani and Justice Rai Chattopadhyay heard the case at Jalpaiguri circuit bench on Thursday.

“In the course of the hearing, we mentioned that several cases are pending against Nisith Pramanik. After hearing us, the division bench refused to grant him anticipatory bail. The case will be heard again on January 22,” Chakraborty added.

In 2018, ahead of the rural polls, when Pramanik was in Trinamul, differences had cropped up over the selection of candidates. Pramanik had defied the district leadership and fielded several dissidents. Many had emerged winners in the polls.

This triggered political violence between two factions of the Trinamul before and after the election. Several senior leaders had accused Pramanik of orchestrating the violence. Pramanik had refuted the allegations.

Pramanik joined the BJP in February 2019. He contested the parliamentary polls the same year on a BJP ticket and won the Cooch Behar Lok Sabha seat. He later became a junior Union minister.

Sayak Chakraborty, his lawyer, said the division bench had asked for an affidavit from the state in connection with the case.

“The court has fixed a new date to hear the case and has not rejected the bail plea of my client,” Chakraborty said.

The refusal of Pramanik’s anticipatory bail has sparked a debate in Cooch Behar’s political corridors.

Several Trinamul leaders on Thursday said that the Union minister should face legal consequences because of his alleged role in the case.

“Criminal cases are pending against him (Pramanik). He was even named in the murder case of a former panchayat member of our party in 2018, ahead of rural polls. We believe the police will take appropriate steps and bring him to book. The Lok Sabha polls are around the corner. We suspect he may try to foment tension to garner support,” said Rabindranath Ghosh, a Trinamul state vice-president.

BJP leaders said Trinamul had implicated Pramanik in the case with political intent.

“Many leaders and workers of our party have been falsely named in police cases across Bengal. This is yet another instance. We will legally contest the case and politically counter Trinamul,” said Sukanta Majumdar, the Bengal BJP chief.