Bhubaneswar, August 13:Former Trinamool Congress MLA Nirmal Ghosh was arrested in Odisha on Thursday in connection with the RG Kar rape and murder case. Police detained him at a hotel in the Simulia area of Balasore district.

Ghosh, a former MLA from Panihati, is accused of involvement in the alleged hurried cremation of the trainee doctor who was raped and murdered at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in 2024. He has been booked on charges including destruction of evidence, criminal conspiracy, and allegedly forcing a person to carry out an act against their will.

The arrest followed a fresh complaint lodged by the victim’s father at Khardaha police station on Monday. In his complaint, he alleged that Ghosh was among three people who pressured the family to conduct the cremation of his daughter’s body in haste.

The two other persons named in the complaint are former Panihati Municipality chairman Somnath Dey and the family’s neighbour, Sanjib Mukherjee.

Police said Ghosh is being taken to West Bengal by road and is likely to be produced before a court in Barrackpore, North 24 Parganas, on Friday.

The development comes days after BJP leader and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, during a memorial programme for the victim in Panihati on Sunday, called for a fresh investigation into the allegations surrounding the alleged hasty cremation.