An arrest warrant has been issued against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president in West Bengal, Dilip Ghosh, in a one-year-old case by the Burdwan Court.

The warrant has been issued in relation to an incident where the Midnapore MP was seen making “offensive” and “inflammatory” speeches against the West Bengal Police.

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At a public meeting on November 4 last year, Ghosh had lashed out at the police and said that the entire department was rotten in corruption. “The police officials in this state are completely inundated in corruption,” Ghosh had alleged.

“Without bribe no one gets a job in police. For promotion as well, one has to pay bribe. From SP to OC, everyone takes bribe and the entire amount goes to the Trinamool Congress fund,” the BJP leader said.

Following this controversial remark, a police officer in Burdwan had lodged a complaint against Ghosh. The official had claimed that the BJP veteran’s statement had hurt the image of police.

He further said that a delusion had been created about police in the minds of civilians and that the police officers also suffered from lack of inspiration towards their profession following Ghosh’s commentary.

It was after the complainant lodged by the officer of Sohrabazar Police Station in Burdwan district that a number of cases were lodged against Ghosh under several sections of the IPC.

Earlier this year in February, the police had filed the chargesheet of the case, appealing for the arrest warrant against the 56-year-old politician. The appeal was accepted on Friday.

Reacting to the development, Ghosh said, as quoted by Bengali daily Sangbad Pratidin, “A case is being registered against me everyday. I haven’t yet heard of this one. If there is an arrest warrant against me, I’ll appeal for bail.”

Meanwhile, Ghosh was the subject of an attack when his convoy faced random stone pelting while he was on his way to Jaigaon, a town in Alipurduar bordering Bhutan, to attend a public meeting.

The incident, which broke the window shield of Ghosh’s and other cars, led to a huge turmoil in Jaigaon. BJP put the blame directly on TMC and GJM supporters. However, both the parties have denied all the allegations.

The Hindutva party complained that the police tried to stop them from continuing their rally. It led to a confrontation among the BJP workers and police, worsening the ground situation further.

The police claimed that BJP had not sought permission for the bike rally. As per a report carried by Bengali portal The Wall, BJP had permission to conduct the rally with 25 bikes, whereas they took out more than 100 bikes.

Ghosh was also accused of breaching police warning and continuing the rally with more than 100 bikes, leading to the clash with police.