A district court in North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, has issued an arrest warrant against Arjun Singh, the former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament from Barrackpore. The warrant pertains to a violent incident on March 2, during which Singh is accused of firing shots at Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers, resulting in one person sustaining a bullet injury.
The officer said Singh was booked under five sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and two sections of the Indian Arms Act. The officer said the arrest warrant was applied for after Singh did not respond to several summonses, saying he was out of station. The summons had called on Singh to report to the local police station with his arms license. With the warrant issued, officials can now enter his home for questioning. In reaction, Singh told that his lawyers had filed a petition at the Calcutta High Court questioning the charges against him.
He said this petition was filed on the morning of April 1, just before the Barrackpore police applied for the arrest warrant. Singh argues that on the evening of March 2, having heard shots and explosions close to his home in Jagaddal, he ventured out to see what was happening. He has dared the police to present any security cameras capturing him discharging a weapon, claiming no such footage is available. The incident has also amplified the already explosive political situation in the area. Jagaddal's TMC legislator, Somnath Shyam, claimed on March 3 that Singh and his followers attacked TMC supporters with guns, resulting in one man being shot in the leg. Shyam himself accused Singh of being the mastermind behind the attack and firing several rounds. Arjun Singh's political career has involved party changes.
Originally a TMC MLA, he switched to the BJP prior to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, later winning the Barrackpore constituency by defeating the sitting TMC MP, Dinesh Trivedi.
The 2019 Barrackpore election was particularly violent. In May 2022, Singh came back to the TMC but rejoined the BJP prior to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls after being refused a TMC ticket from Barrackpore. He ran as a candidate of the BJP during the 2024 elections but lost against TMC's Partha Bhowmick.
