Alim Molla, the purported driver of the truck that had crushed a car on Basanti Highway on Wednesday — in what investigators suspect was an attempt to eliminate key CBI witness Bholanath Ghosh — has been wanted by the central agency for months.

Although Bholanath escaped with minor injuries, his younger son and the driver of their car were killed in the accident. Bholanath, in a case filed on Thursday, has accused incarcerated former Trinamool Congress strongman Sheikh Shahjahan and seven others, including Alim, of conspiring to kill him.

Bholanath was once a close aide to Shahjahan. He is among the prime accused in the January 2024 attack on Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials in Sandeshkhali and was named in a supplementary chargesheet, along with four others, filed by the CBI.

Instead of arresting him, the agency listed him as an absconder. Sources in the Laugachhi area of Sandeshkhali said Alim, who remained on the run after Nazat police issued an arrest warrant in connection with Wednesday’s suspicious accident, continued his “rowdy activities” by leveraging his political links with Shahjahan.

Trinamool insiders, who said they were forced into silence by local goons close to Shahjahan, claimed that Alim’s shenanigans were amplified because of the influence of his wife, Roshanara Biwi, an elected member of the Trinamool-controlled Agarati gram panchayat.

A Trinamool insider said: “Alim is a notorious criminal who was involved in all the misdeeds about which some women in Sandeshkhali once raised their voice. Traders and women were always his soft targets. Nobody ever dared to lodge complaints against him because of his clout in Trinamool through Shahjahan and Roshnara."

Following Wednesday’s crash that killed Ghosh’s younger son Satyajit Ghosh and their car’s driver, Sahanur Molla, Alim went missing, prompting Nazat police to issue a fresh arrest warrant and begin a probe.

On Friday, Roshanara claimed that her husband was being implicated in a fabricated case by a faction within her party, acting at the behest of the BJP.

“My husband is being framed through a conspiracy orchestrated by the BJP and a section of Trinamool. Bholanath made several inconsistent statements and changed them several times, which clearly indicates that he is part of this conspiracy," she said.

"Alim was mostly at home that day and later went to supervise agricultural work. I have proof of his presence there," she added, and claimed Alim was not in a position to drive because of a neurological condition.

The investigators said they had yet to conclusively establish whether Alim was at the wheel of the truck.

A police officer said: “No CCTV footage has so far been found to support such a claim. We are trying to nab him to find out the reality.”

On Friday, Bholanath wondered why the CBI had allowed Alim to roam freely despite being wanted for so long.

CBI sources said it was the responsibility of local police to arrest him, and since they did not act, the Basirhat court recently directed the CBI to arrest Alim and three other absconders named in the ED assault case.

The police have also failed to trace another accused, Abdus Samad Molla, a Trinamool member of the Agarati gram panchayat, who remains recorded as the owner of the truck in state transport department records. His family claimed the truck had been sold to another accused, Nazrul Molla.

Moslem Sheikh, deputy chief of the local panchayat samiti and another accused, alleged he had been falsely implicated by members of his own party. “A section of our party conspired against me to encourage Bholanath to file a false complaint against me. I personally met Bholanath and expressed my condolences. I have no idea how he could make such allegations," he said.