AJUP State Secretary Held in Murshidabad With Fake Notes, Firearms Ahead of Bypoll

The state secretary of the Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) has been arrested in West Bengal's Murshidabad district after police recovered counterfeit currency and illegal arms from his vehicle, officials said on Saturday.

Ashik Iqbal was taken into custody late on Friday night during a vehicle check at a police picket in Hariharpara. Another person travelling with him was also detained, a senior officer said.

According to police, an SUV was stopped near the Garinama area. A search of the vehicle yielded 108 counterfeit notes of Rs 500 denomination, two firearms and four rounds of ammunition.

The officer said the interception took place during a routine checking operation, and that investigators were working to establish where the fake currency and the weapons came from and what they were meant for.

Among the lines of inquiry is whether the counterfeit notes were intended for use in the October 6 Rejinagar Assembly bypoll, and whether those arrested had previously been involved in circulating or using fake currency.

The AJUP is led by Humayun Kabir, who vacated the Rejinagar seat after winning both it and Nawda in the 2026 Assembly elections. The party has fielded his son, Golam Nabi Azad, in the upcoming bypoll.

Separately, the Baharampur police on Saturday issued a notice to Kabir, directing him to appear before investigating officers on Monday. The notice relates to a case registered on September 14 over an alleged conspiracy to stoke tension between two communities.

A senior officer said the case followed the release of an audio recording at a press conference in Berhampore. Police claimed the conversation pointed to a possible plan to instigate communal tension.

In another development, an Independent candidate contesting the Rejinagar bypoll was arrested on Saturday in connection with a five-year-old case involving a clash between two groups during the 2021 state elections, police said.