Sept. 19: Palash Das, whose earlier arrest had ripped the veil off the CPM-criminal nexus, was caught today in Nadia?s Chakdah after a two-year police search.

Wanted in at least 23 cases, which include murder, extortion and rioting, Das? arrest came after a string of raids in Nadia and Hooghly by a special team of North 24-Parganas police. The mission was headed by subdivisional police officer Humayun Kabir, who had arrested Das from Salt Lake stadium three years ago.

In June 2001, Das and his gang left the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government and the CPM red faced when a police raid, which began in Howrah following a string of complaints of extortion, led to their arrest from Salt Lake stadium. The sports hub is a fief of sorts for transport and sports minister Subhas Chakraborty and the gangsters, it was alleged then, could not have taken shelter in rooms meant for sports people without his knowledge.

After a few months in jail, Das obtained bail and slipped out till police stepped up the pressure following the arrest of Avtar Singh, the former athlete and husband of athlete-turned-CPM MP Jyotirmoyee Sikdar. Singh was held last month for allegedly running a sleaze racket from his hotel, Merlin Park, in Salt Lake.

Today, nine Das associates from Nadia and Hooghly were also netted at Sanyalchar in Chakdah. North 24-Parganas superintendent of police Parveen Kumar said: ?We have recovered arms, mobile phones and the motorcycle that Palash had used while firing at the police during a raid at Taki. The raids are still not over and we hope to make more arrests.?

After Singh?s arrest, the chief minister had piled pressure on the police to arrest Das and known criminals like ?one-armed? Dilip, who is wanted in connection with the killing of two people at a soiree on the fringes of Salt Lake.

Das and his gang had been on the run. Three days ago, they left a hideout in North 24-Parganas? Hasnabad and took shelter in a house at Sanyalchar. In his late thirties, Das? fief spread over a swathe of south Bengal, including Howrah and the two 24-Parganas, where he took the help of members of several gangs. Kabir said: ?Palash is no ordinary criminal? The police in three districts were hunting for him.?