The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested an accused in a 2021 rape case linked to post-poll violence in West Bengal, who had been absconding despite a non-bailable warrant.
According to the probe agency officials, the man, identified as Usman Ali, was wanted for allegedly raping a woman at her home in Purbi Medinipur on May 4, 2021, shortly after the State Assembly election results.
The CBI had registered the case on August 30, 2021 and filed a chargesheet on May 5, 2022 before the Special Judge under the SC/ST (POA) Act in Tamluk.
The accused was granted bail by the Calcutta High Court on September 25, 2024, but the CBI challenged the order in the Supreme Court. “Despite being served notice, neither the accused nor his counsel appeared before the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India,” the agency said.
On August 2, 2025, the top court issued a non-bailable warrant and directed the CBI to produce the accused before it on August 13, 2025. Acting on “concerted efforts and technical inputs,” the CBI traced the man hiding near a mosque in Ilaychipur, Ghaziabad, and arrested him on August 12.
He was brought to Delhi and was to be presented before the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
The case is one among several post-poll violence incidents in West Bengal under CBI investigation, following orders from the Calcutta High Court in 2021 to probe allegations of murder, sexual assault, and other crimes after the Assembly elections.
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