Trinamool Congress MLA Saokat Molla has alleged that former party MLA Arabul Islam engaged contract killers to eliminate a leader of a rival faction and made money by selling party tickets for last year’s panchayat polls.

The allegation from the Canning East MLA came at a public meeting in Bhangar on Tuesday evening.

Arabul, a former MLA of Bhangar, is now in jail.

Alleging Arabul’s involvement in the conspiracy to kill TMC worker Khairul Islam, who is the husband of a local panchayat chief, Molla said: “Abhishek Banerjee (TMC’s second-in-command) one day informed me that a deal was done to kill the husband of a local panchayat chief in Bhangar. Rs 18 lakh had changed hands to eliminate him and Arabul was the key person behind the conspiracy.”

“After (last year’s) gram panchayat polls, a local level inquiry revealed that Arabul had hatched a conspiracy to kill Khairul as he raised the voice against him,” Molla added.

The TMC had lost the Bhangar seat to the ISF in the 2021 Assembly polls.

Bhangar has witnessed an erosion in Trinamool’s support base in the recent past.

Trading charges of extortion against Arabul, the Canning East MLA said the jailed leader had received several lakhs of rupees by “selling” Trinamool tickets during the last panchayat elections.

“I have some documents indicating that Arabul collected around ₹1.30 crore exploiting his position in the party as he was told to distribute nominations for the rural elections.”

In 2023, Molla was appointed as the party’s observer for the Bhangar Assembly area and to nominate party candidates for the gram panchayat polls.

“Arabul took between ₹6 lakh and ₹15 lakh from our party candidates. He took anything between ₹25 lakh and ₹40 lakh to ensure that one becomes a panchayat pradhan,” Molla said.

On February 9 this year, Arabul was arrested in connection with the alleged murder of ISF panchayat poll candidate Mohiuddin Molla. Molla was shot dead in June when he went to the Bhangar BDO office to file nominations for the rural poll. Arabul was charged with murder, extortion, vandalism of government properties and attacking groups using firearms.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Molla said: “Arabul is nowhere in the political scene of Bhangar now. But he has caused major damage to the party. I had no idea that he had done such large-scale corruption. Public and party workers who suffered have begun lodging complaints against him only after he was arrested. The way he has siphoned off money is shocking. I gave him responsibility for the distribution of party tickets, but he cheated us all.”

Molla said all written complaints received against Arabul would be handed over to the Trinamool leadership through Abhishek Banerjee. “Once Abhishek Banerjee returns from Delhi, I will hand over the written complaints to him for a decision by the party.”

Molla also alleged that Arabul had facilitated the nomination of his son Hakimul at the South 24-Parganas zilla parishad.

“However, no allegations of corruption has been reported against him so far,” Molla said.

Hakimul, a zilla parishad member and Trinamool’s youth wing leader, refused to comment on the allegations against his father.

“I have no idea about the allegations,” he said.

Speaking about Molla’s complaint, a senior Trinamool leader from South 24-Parganas said: “Mamata Banerjee has conveyed a clear message cautioning errant leaders
on several occasions. If anybody thinks that one can get away by doing unlawful things, he would find himself behind bars. So there is nothing unusual in Saokat Molla’s statement.”

Reacting to Molla’s outburst against Arabul, an ISF leader in Bhangar said the MLA was trying to firm up his grip on the party in the region.

“Arabul’s arrest has made the situation favourable for Molla. We apprehend violence in the coming days as rival factions led by Molla and Arabul clash to establish their supremacy in the area,” the ISF leader said.