July 4: A Midnapore court has issued an arrest warrant against Congress MLA Manas Bhuniya and three other party leaders in connection with the murder of a Trinamul activist in Sabang on April 8.

Bhuniya was today called by chief minister Mamata Banerjee to her Assembly chamber after news about the warrant, issued on Saturday, spread.

The chief judicial magistrate's court in Midnapore had issued the warrant following a prayer by Sabang police. Sources said Bhuniya's lawyer was not present in the court at that time.

Bhuniya's counsel Harisadhan Bhattacharya told this newspaper that he came to know about the warrant in the morning and then informed the media.

The three other Congress activists against whom arrest warrants were issued are Bhuniya's brother Bikash, the Congress district president of West Midnapore; Amal Panda, the sabhapati of the Congress-run Sabang panchayat samiti, and Abu Kalam Baksh, a Congress general secretary.

Asked what transpired at the 20-minute meeting with Mamata, Bhuniya said: "I met the chief minister after I was called by her. We spoke about law and order in Sabang."

"Since the arrest warrant has been issued by the court, I want to discuss it with my lawyers first," he added.

Leader of the Opposition Abdul Mannan accused the state government of trying to implicate Bhuniya and the three Congress leaders.

"Adhir Chowdhury (state Congress president) called me this afternoon from Delhi after hearing about the warrant against Bhuniya. This is not Bhuniya's personal fight. The entire party will back him and launch a statewide movement against the state government's injustice," he said.

CPM leader Sujan Chakraborty described Bhuniya as "a victim of political conspiracy".