Nandigram, Dec. 25: A group of Trinamul leaders from Nandigram, apprehending trouble after an Election Commission directive, has requested Mamata Banerjee to look into withdrawing cases, some of murder, that were filed during the 2007 land agitation.

The Election Commission of India had recently ordered district officials to execute all pending non-bailable warrants before the Assembly elections, which are about four months away.

"The chief minister has promised to look into the matter early next month. She has said there won't be a problem.... When she asked us why we had not brought this up before the Lok Sabha polls last year, we told her that the poll panel did not seem so strict about pending warrants then," a Trinamul leader said.

Trinamul leaders against whom murder charges were slapped include the deputy chief of East Midnapore zilla parishad, Sheikh Sufiyan, panchayat samiti chief Abu Taher and senior panchayat samiti functionary Soem Kazi.

Most of these leaders are known for their clout in the area. Sources said Trinamul's Nandigram unit feared that its Assembly poll campaigning could be affected if the cases were not withdrawn.

In 2012, the state government had approved a proposal to withdraw 303 Nandigram cases, mostly filed between 2006 and 2008. But over half of them are pending.

According to several senior Nabanna officials, the commission's full-bench led by chief election commissioner Nasim Zaidi had specifically instructed the districts administration on December 10 to "pull up their socks" and ensure the arrests are made.

"The commission is going to be very strict with Bengal this time," a senior Trinamul leader said.

East Midnapore police chief Alok Rajoria told The Telegraph that warrants for around 3,500 people were pending in the district.

"All police stations have been instructed to draw up lists identifying the people against whom the warrants exist," Rajoria said.