Siliguri, June 13: The SDJM court of Islampur in West Bengal's north Dinajpur district has rejected the bail prayer of Congress MLA Hamidul Rahaman accused in the murder of a CPI-M leader in Chopra area in pre-panchayat poll violence. SDJM Santanu Roy rejected the bail prayer of Rahaman, accused in the murder case of CPI(M) leader Akbar Ali, and remanded him to judicial custody yesterday. Rahaman and 10 other congress men were arrested after the murder of Ali, CPI(M) district committee member, on April 30 and remanded to judicial custody.

Rahaman and Chopra block congress president, Ashok Roy who was also in judicial custody in connection with the same case, informed the sub-divisional officer, Islampur, that all the 11 arrested members of their party would stage an indefinite hungerstrike on June 20 demanding their unconditional release.

Nine persons, from both congress and CPI(M), were killed in poll-related violence in the area triggered off by the killing of the CPI(M) district leader allegedly by some Congress workers.

Bureau Report