Kolkata: Trinamool Congress activist Ajit Maity was arrested on Monday from Sandeshkhali after being interrogated overnight by the police.
The arrest was made barely a day after West Bengal ruling party removed the controversial leader from the post of the head of the party's local unit, official sources said.
Police picked up Maity from a Civic Volunteer home he was hiding in and interrogated him . The Sandeshkhali villagers, especially the women were demanding arrest of Maity, known to be a close associate of absconding TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh.
Sources said the TMC leader would be produced later at a local court in Barasat, under North 24 Parganas.
With Maity's arrest so far three TMC leaders have been rounded up at Sandeshkhali. Earlier, Uttam Hazra and Sbibu Hazra were arrested.
The local women are also demanding the arrest of the alleged mastermind of PDS scam Shahjahan Sheikh, who they alleged led his followers to grab land of the poor tribal people and convert them into bheries (fish farming) and to sexually torture the women.
Shahjahan has been evading arrest since January 5 last after allegedly orchestrating attacks on the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials and CRPF jawans.
The central agencies had gone to Sahjahan house for searching in the alleged ration (PDS) scam and abandoned the search after being beaten by the followers of the TMC leader.
Meanwhile, reinforced state police, along with women officers began camping in the troubled torn Sandeshkhali some 75 kms south-west of Kolkata, where the situation though tense was gradually returning to normal.
A separate report said unidentified miscreants this morning set a stack of straw on fire outside the home of TMC leader Haladhar Ari, who alleged the opposition parties were fomenting trouble.