Police arrested an area committee president of Trinamul in Basanti, South 24Parganas, on Saturday allegedly for illegally possessing a gun and ammunition.

Dilip Sardar, 39, who heads the ruling party’s Uttar Mokamberia area committee under Basanti block committee, was arrested from home with a pipe gun and 10 rounds of live ammunition.

The police made the raid in connection with the ongoing investigation of a bomb blast at the home of a youth Trinamul activist in SardarparaPhoolmalancha village last Thursday. One person had died in the blast. The blast caused serious embarrassment to the ruling party after the Bogtui massacre in which nine persons died.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee issued a directive to police to unearth illegal arms from across the state.

Trinamul’s Basanti MLA Shyamal Mondal last week in a video message also appealed to all to surrender arms. But it made little impact in Basanti, which party insiders suspect, has big stockpile of arms.

Sardar claimed innocence alleging the arms were planted by his political rivals.

MLA Mondal welcomed the police action. “Our CM directed police to recover illegal arms and arrest their possessors irrespective of political identity,” he said.