Trinamool Congress leader Udayan Guha on Wednesday became the third minister from the Mamata Banerjee government to be arrested after the BJP came to power in West Bengal. The police have yet to reveal details of his arrest, but sources hinted at post-poll violence and fraud cases.

The police picked Guha up from his Phulbagan home in Kolkata in the afternoon and will take him to Cooch Behar, sources said.

Guha, who was the minister for North Bengal development and also handled the TMC’s organisational responsibilities in Cooch Behar, has kept a low profile since losing the May elections to the BJP by a huge margin. He had since left Cooch Behar for Kolkata.

Guha, who wielded considerable influence under TMC rule, often made controversial remarks and issued  public threats. Multiple police cases, including on charges of fraud and intimidation, have been registered against Guha. He was also linked to incidents of post-poll violence in 2021, and sources said the police had been searching for him.

Guha is the son of former Forward Bloc heavyweight Kamal Guha. He won the 2011 Assembly elections as a Forward Bloc candidate but later joined the TMC and won the 2016 polls for the party .

According to police sources, Rupam Saha has filed a complaint alleging that at least Rs 20–25 crore was collected from Udayan Bazar for a government hospital’s children’s unit after the 2021 Assembly elections, but work worth even Rs 40–45 lakh was not carried out.

Dinhata BJP MLA Ajay Roy said Guha faced several cases, ranging from those related to BJP worker Ratan Barman’s murder to allegations of cut money, fraud, and more. “His name was also linked to post-poll violence in 2021. He should have been arrested long ago. We demand strict punishment,” the MLA said.

Sujit Basu and Ullwal Biswas are the other two former ministers arrested after the new government took over in the state.