{
  "id": 8410102,
  "title": "Arrest of Nandigram Congress candidate lawful step: West Bengal Police",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/19/arrest-of-nandigram-congress-candidate-lawful-step-west-bengal-police",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-19T07:43:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu",
    "slug": "the-hindu",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/west-bengal/arrest-of-nandigram-congress-candidate-lawful-step-west-bengal-police/article71483957.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On Friday, September 18, 2026, the police in West Bengal arrested Milan Pradhan, the candidate for the Congress party in the upcoming Nandigram bypoll. The arrests were made based on 19-year-old cases, some of which included charges of murder and attempted murder. The West Bengal police released a statement confirming that the arrest was a lawful step, as per the instructions of the Election Commission of India. Pradhan had been evading the law for nearly 19 years. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi questioned the arrest, stating it was an act of political revenge. Congress leaders in the state responded by planning a protest rally in Kolkata to voice their disagreement with the arrest of their candidate.",
  "summary": "Both Rahul Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee have condemned the arrest and criticised the move days ahead of the bypoll",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "NDTV - India News",
        "title": "Mamata Banerjee's Pick For Rejinagar Bypoll Withdraws Candidature, Day After Nandigram Blow",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/19/mamata-banerjees-pick-for-rejinagar-bypoll-withdraws-candidature-day",
        "published": "2026-09-19T06:27:12.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Hindustan Times",
        "title": "After Nandigram, TMC's Rejinagar candidate to withdraw from bypoll in fresh setback for Mamata",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/19/after-nandigram-tmcs-rejinagar-candidate-to-withdraw-from-bypoll-in",
        "published": "2026-09-19T07:11:51.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Indian Express",
        "title": "Congress says it won’t back down after Nandigram candidate’s arrest",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/19/congress-says-it-wont-back-down-after-nandigram-candidates-arrest",
        "published": "2026-09-19T08:42:41.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}