West Bengal Police on Sunday detained local TMC leader Ajit Maiti at Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas on charges of land grabbing from villagers, an officer said.

Maiti, considered a close aide of fugitive Shajahan Sheikh, was detained from the residence of a civic volunteer where he had locked himself for over four hours after being chased by villagers, he said.

"We detained him following complaints of land grabbing by villagers. We will look into their complaints and then decide on arresting him," the police officer told PTI.

Angry villagers had attacked Maiti a couple of days ago for his alleged ties with Shajahan and his group, allegedly involved in land grabbing and torture of local women.

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CORRECTION

An earlier photograph inadvertently used with this article was that of Trinamul's Pingla MLA Ajit Maity and not that of the local Trinamul leader of the same name arrested in Sandeshkhali. The error is deeply regretted.