Police arrested the brother of the BJP candidate from the Chanchal Assembly seat in Malda on Tuesday evening after ₹2.79 lakh in cash was recovered from his bike.

The accused, Biplab Das, 45, is the younger brother of BJP candidate Ratan Das and resides in the Koligram area of the constituency.

On Tuesday, Biplab was apprehended from Borui under the Harishchandrapur police station limits.

Trinamool leaders alleged that the money was intended to influence voters.

“The BJP has become desperate to win elections through unfair means. The party is trying to buy votes. The police should take strict action,” said Abdur Rahim Boxi, the Malda district Trinamool president.

The BJP dismissed the allegations and claimed that Biplab had no official connection with the party.

“He (Biplab) is a businessman, and the money can be his own. Trinamool is unnecessarily politicising the issue. A similar incident during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Chanchal was later found to be a motivated campaign by Trinamool,” alleged Snehangshu Bhattacharya, general secretary of BJP’s Malda north (organisational) district.

Inspector-in-charge Sumit Kumar Ghosh said a case had been registered against Biplab. “We are questioning him on the source of the cash,” he said.