Farakka police arrested Arunmoy Das, the president of the managing committee of New Farakka High School in Murshidabad and the former block president of the TMC, who was accused of beating the headmaster of the school, on Wednesday.

Das from nabbed from an area outside the MLA hostel in Calcutta, the police said. The Farakka MLA denied being in touch with Das.

Das was produced in the additional chief judicial magistrate’s court in Jangipur on Thursday where his bail plea was rejected.

He was put in judicial custody till February 17.

Das and three other teachers had been absconding since headmaster Manirul Islam was beaten up on January 31.

Allegedly, Das and four teachers in the school had beaten up Islam following an argument over the class routine for the new academic session.

The headmaster was beaten up so severely that his left leg was fractured and he had to be admitted to the Malda Medical College and Hospital.

On February 2, the headmaster’s wife, Mousumi Khan, lodged an FIR with the police against Das and the four teachers.

The police arrested one of the teachers — Suman Swarnakar — from his residence in Kaliachak in Malda on February 2 night.

Farakka SDPO Aminul Islam Sheikh said Das was arrested from outside the MLA hostel on Wednesday.

“We acted on a tip-off and arrested the accused. He was produced in court and has been kept in judicial custody till February 17,” he said.

Local ruling party leaders said Das was known to be a close aide of the TMC MLA from Farakka, who shares the same name as the headmaster.

They suspected Das had tried to take refuge in the MLA hostel as he knew the local MLA well.

The MLA, Manirul Islam, however, refuted the charges and also said that Das was not arrested from the MLA hostel.

“I have heard that he was arrested from Calcutta. But he was not arrested from the MLA hostel. So I can say that he was not in touch with me,” said the MLA.