Overview

• On August 12, CBI operatives arrested Usman Ali from a hideout near a mosque in Ilaychipur, Ghaziabad, after tracing him through technical leads.
• The arrest follows a non-bailable Supreme Court warrant issued on August 2 when Ali failed to appear after securing bail from the Calcutta High Court in September 2024.
• Ali is accused of breaking into a woman’s home and committing rape during the May 4, 2021, post-poll violence in West Bengal, with the CBI filing a chargesheet on May 5, 2022.
• In July, the agency filed a supplementary chargesheet against a Trinamool Congress legislator and two Kolkata Municipal Corporation councillors, prompting TMC allegations of political targeting.
• This apprehension marks a renewed CBI push in unresolved 2021 violence cases as West Bengal prepares for state elections next year.