A Trinamul gram panchayat chief in East Midnapore was arrested on charges of corruption within hours of stepping down from his post on Wednesday.

Before his arrest, Sk Salim Ali, the chief of Santipur-I gram panchayat, was asked to step down after a party inquiry found in his possession 60 anonymous properties.

Trinamul national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee had ordered the probe.

Ali sent his resignation to the BDO of Sahid Matangini block citing “personal reasons”.

Then, police arrested Ali and Dibakar Jana, former chief of Trinamul-run Sahid Matangini panchayat samiti who joined the BJP last year, on charges of corruption in a government tender floated for civil construction.

Ali denied the charges.

Trinamul wants to weed out corrupt leaders before panchayat polls, an insider said.

CPM leader Sujan Chakraborty wondered when “big fish” will be caught. BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said “all are corrupt” in Trinamul.