Former Trinamool minister Udayan Guha arrested in cheating case

ByTech Word News

Former West Bengal minister Udayan Guha was on Wednesday (June 17, 2026) escorted by the police after his arrest for his alleged involvement in “financial irregularities” linked to the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana in Nadia. | Photo credit: PTI

Former Trinamool Congress minister Udayan Guha was arrested from his residence in Phoolbagan area of ​​Kolkata on Wednesday (June 17, 2026) in connection with a cheating and misappropriation case registered in Cooch Behar district.

Also read | Trinamool MLA arrested, several leaders quit party post

“Mr. Guha was arrested based on an FIR lodged at Dinhata police station on June 11 under sections 406, 409, 420 of the IPC. The case relates to allegations of cheating and collecting ‘cut money’ under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana since 2016,” said a senior police officer from Cooch Behar.

He said the complainant, an individual from Dinhata, had alleged that the former minister had collected millions of rupees from local residents to set up a children’s unit at a government hospital. The complainant also alleged that the former minister did not issue any receipt against the collected money and that the promised project was never implemented.

Mr Guha is the fourth minister from the previous Trinamool Congress government to face arrest since the BJP came to power in West Bengal after the 2026 assembly elections. Earlier, former minister Sujit Bose, Ujjwal Biswas and Dilip Mondal were arrested by the police and the Enforcement Directorate on charges of cheating, extortion and intimidation.

Mr Guha is the son of former Forward Block leader and Minister of State for Agriculture Kamal Guha. He won the 2011 assembly elections on a Forward Bloc ticket, but later switched to the Trinamool Congress, on whose ticket he won the 2016 parliamentary elections.

Meanwhile, Calcutta police arrested Trinamool Congress councilor Sushant Ghosh from ward number 108 from Puri in Odisha after he was allegedly absconding for several weeks.

According to the police, Mr. Ghosh and his associates allegedly extorted over ₹3 million from hawkers and traders near the EM Bypass-Ruby crossing in Kolkata, after which at least 130 members of the hawkers’ association filed an FIR against him at the Anandapur police station.

Police said Mr. Ghosh fled after the FIR was registered. Its driver was arrested by a team of the Anandapur police from the Bengal-Udisha border on Friday.

Published – 17 Jun 2026 22:36 IST