A court in Midnapore in West Bengal's Paschim Medinipur district extended the judicial custody of the former Paschimanchal Unnayan Affairs Minister, Sushanta Ghosh, for 14 days on Monday in connection with his alleged involvement in the killing of seven Trinamool Congress supporters in the district in September 2002.
Mr. Ghosh is an MLA of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) from the Garbeta constituency.
He, along with 39 other local CPI(M) leaders and supporters, was named in the first information report after skeletons were dug up near his ancestral house in Benachapra village in June. DNA reports of the skeletons confirmed that two of them were of Trinamool supporters missing since 2002.
Chief Judicial Magistrate Manoj Kumar Rai rejected Mr. Ghosh's bail prayer and extended his remand in judicial custody along with six other accused persons.
The State's Criminal Investigation Department, which is probing the case, has so far arrested 12 persons in connection with case.
While being brought to the city's Presidency Correctional Home following the court order, Mr. Ghosh alleged that the government was trying to frame him.
