Bengal MLA Humayun Kabir arrested, video shows confrontation with cops

Bengal MLA Humayun Kabir was arrested on Tuesday amid polling for the Rejinagar by-election. A video showing the Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) chief in a heated confrontation with police has gone viral, with officers seen pulling him by his shirt and taking him into a police vehicle.

The Nowda MLA had cast his vote with his family at a booth in his Shaktipur village after polling began at around 8 am. He then went to the AJUP office in Rejinagar, where police later arrived following allegations that he was instigating violence and tension in various areas.

A heated argument broke out between Kabir and the police personnel at the party office.

In the viral video, the MLA can be heard accusing the police of “looting the vote” and indulging in partisanship. Police asked Kabir to return home, but he refused, saying he would remain at the booth.

The situation then escalated, with police personnel pushing and pushing him into a vehicle before taking him to the police station.

While being taken away, Kabir said, “Whether I am being arrested or detained, I know nothing.”

Kabir had been criticising the police since the beginning of polling, alleging that a large security deployment had been stationed outside his residence and that police were being used to intimidate voters.

He also alleged that his party agents were being prevented from sitting at several polling booths in Rejinagar.

The Rejinagar seat fell vacant after Kabir, who had won both Rejinagar and Nowda in the May 2026 Assembly polls, retained Nowda.

The AJUP has fielded his son, Golam Nabi Azad, from Rejinagar. Other candidates include BJP's Sakharav Sarkar, TMC's Rabiul Alam Chowdhury and Safiuzzaman Sheikh, Congress' Mohammad Abdullahil Kafi and CPI(M)'s Syed Asad Ali.

Polling is also underway for the Nadigram assembly seat.- Ends(With PTI inputs)

Indrajit Kundu is an Editor and chief of Kolkata Bureau at the TV Today Network. A multimedia journalist with over 16 years experience, he reports from West Bengal, Odisha, Northeast India and Bangladesh. An alumni of the Asian College of Journalism, he holds a certificate in broadcast journalism from BBC World Service Trust. He is also a US State Department International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) Fellow.