STF arrests ex-junior min from Puri hotel

Bhubaneswar/Kolkata: Bengal Special Task Force (STF) on Wednesday arrested Trinamool Congress Bishnupur MLA Dilip Mondal from Puri in Odisha in connection with cases registered against him for allegedly threatening BJP workers at a rally earlier this month.Mondal was the minister of state for transport in the Trinamool govt for around three odd years.The Bishnupur MLA was on the run for the past 13 days after the police raided his Pailan penthouse and he escaped by scaling its walls. The cops had arrested his son Arghya and five others from Bakhhali along with cartridges on May 18.Multiple FIRs were lodged against Mondal after a video showing him threatening BJP workers during a victory rally at Molanga near Baruipur on May 11 went viral on social media. His speech was streamed live on Facebook, in which he was purportedly heard saying: "We have shown a lot of restraint. We kept peace for 15 years. But this won't happen again."On Wednesday, acting on a tip from one of Mondal's aides, STF officials raided Hotel Lily in Puri. According to police sources, a 30-member team from Bengal STF and the Puri Police surrounded the hotel to prevent Mondal from escaping. Officers in plainclothes then enquired about Mondal at the reception. Once his identity was confirmed, they called Mondal out of his room to the lobby, where the police took him into custody.Sources said Mondal was preparing to check out and shift to another hotel in Baliapanda area. "We provided all necessary assistance to Bengal police in tracing the suspect, who had checked in (at the hotel) with an associate on Tuesday," Puri SP Prateek Singh told TOI.After his arrest and transit remand to Diamond Harbour, Mondal claimed he was being framed. "BJP is playing vendetta politics. Since I have been vocal against their top leaders, they took revenge by arresting me," he told reporters in Puri."He had checked in using his associate's name. The moment he came down to complete the checkout formalities, he was taken into custody. There was no resistance. He had already booked another hotel near the beach for Wednesday," a Puri police officer said.Sources said Mondal reached Puri by train about a week back and was switching hotels to avoid detection.Hailing from Chaluari in Falta, Mondal shifted his political base to Bishnupur. His political journey began in 1998 when he became the deputy chief of the Kuldari Gram Panchayat. From there, his influence and political clout steadily grew. In 2001, he was elected MLA from Bishnupur Purba, marking the beginning of a long and powerful political career. Except for one electoral defeat, Mondal maintained his winning streak till 2026.Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Bakrid wishes, messages and eid 2026