Agartala, Dec. 11: The Tripura CPM expelled its state committee leader and Amarpur MLA Manoranjan Acharjee last night.

Complying with the party directive, Acharjee resigned as MLA soon after. Speaker Ramendra Debnath today confirmed that he had received Acharjee's letter of resignation last night itself.

In a brief statement, the office secretary of the CPM state committee, Rakhal Mazumder, said Acharjee had been expelled from the party and directed to resign as MLA on the charge of "moral turpitude", which had been tarnishing the image of the party.

Acharjee, a powerful party leader in Amarpur who was elected to the state Assembly first in 2008, had several allegations of financial corruption and moral debauchery against him. His alleged weaknesses for monetary gains and women came to the fore especially after he was re-elected to the Assembly in 2013.

Sources in the CPM said Acharjee used to take bribes from contractors and beneficiaries of government schemes and would spend most of the nights in a spacious and expensively furnished room in Jatanbari government rest house, specially made for him at a cost of Rs 7 lakh, in the company of women.

"Allegations against him had reached the highest level of the party but the top leaders were waiting for a specific allegation," a senior CPM leader in Amarpur said.

On November 27, a woman had gone to meet him with her eight-year-old daughter at the party office in Amarpur town, located on the bank of the Gomati, the source said. Acharjee took the minor out on a stroll along the river bank in the name of giving her chocolates and sexually abused her. Upon return, the sobbing girl told everything to her mother who slapped Acharjee openly in the party office. Later, she filed a formal complaint with chief minister Manik Sarkar and party secretary Bijan Dhar. The leaders kept their decision pending till the December 9 civic polls and got the matter investigated in the meantime.

Last evening, the party announced its decision to expel Acharjee at an emergency meeting of the state committee and directed him to resign as MLA, Dhar told reporters. He said the CPM would "never compromise on corruption and moral turpitude" and would continue its "rectification drive".

In 2002, the CPM had expelled the then rural development minister Ananta Paul for having illicit liaison with and secretly marrying a domestic help. Paul was dropped from the ministry but was allowed to retain his position as MLA. In 2000, another sitting MLA, Bhudeb Bhattacharjee, was expelled on unspecified charges of corruption. At that time, sources in the CPM had confided that Bhattacharjee had been expelled because of his tiffs with senior party leader Tapan Chakraborty, who is currently the minister for school education. Both come from Kailasahar subdivision. Bhattacharjee was later reinstated in the party though he never became MLA again.