BJP leader and Durgapur businessman Rajesh Jha, alias Raju, was remanded in judicial custody by a Bankura court where he had turned up on Monday to seek bail in connection with a coal pilferage case lodged in 2005.

The coal pilferage case was lodged at Mejia police station in Bankura in 2005. The court rejected his bail petition and sent him to 14 days’ judicial custody.

Jha, who had recently joined the BJP in the presence of the party state president Dilip Ghosh and MP Arjun Singh, is one of the aspirants seeking nominations in the forthcoming Assembly elections. He was seen taking part in the BJP’s political activities, including Parivartan Yatra in Durgapur, Raniganj, Jamuria and Pandaveswar, areas that come under the coal belt in West Burdwan.

On Monday, Jha had appeared in the additional district and sessions judge court in Bankura, which had last year issued an arrest warrant against him, and appealed for bail. However, the judge Arun Kiran Banerjee rejected his bail petition and remanded him in 14 days’ judicial custody.

Public prosecutor Arun Chatterjee said the court had issued the arrest warrant against Jha last year after he had sent a man to impersonate him before the court during the trial.

“During the trial last year, the judge had asked the man to show his identity proof when we came to know that he was standing in place of Jha. The court immediately issued the arrest warrant but according to police Jha was absconding,” said Chatterjee.

Sources said Jha had turned up to seek bail from the Bankura court on Monday apprehending that the case might come in the way of his aspiration to be nominated by the BJP in the polls.

Police sources in Durgapur said Jha used to run an organised coal smuggling and transportation of smuggled coal during the Left regime. “He fled to Malaysia and Singapore to evade arrest after the change of power in Bengal in 2011,” the police officer said.

Jha was arrested within a month of Mamata Banerjee taking over as chief minister and sent to jail. Although he managed to get bail, he was arrested again after the 2016 Assembly polls on charges of transporting unaccounted cash and unauthorised firearms.

BJP president in West Burdwan Lakshman Ghorui, however, said the law would take its own course. “The BJP has inducted Raju Jha in the party but if he had committed any mischief, the party will not protect him,” he said.