With allegations of Trinamool Congress leaders’ involvement in the Vedic Village land-grab case becoming shriller, party chief Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday expelled three leaders in an attempt to make her party free of any taint.

Those expelled were former Rajarhat MLA Tamnoy Mandal, Rajarhat councillor Sukhen Chakraborty and former leader of the Opposition Shankarnarayan Dutta.

Though the official reason for the expulsion was stated to be “anti-party activities and hobnobbing with the CPM”, sources in the Trinamool said that these leaders were involved in the land scam. The party has, however, refrained from taking any action against Arabul Islam — the Trinamool MLA from Bhangar whose brother Azizul Islam is one of the prime accused in the Vedic Village arson case.

The decision to expel the leaders came on a day when Banerjee held a rally close to the Vedic Village site. Defending her party, Banerjee alleged that the CPM-led state government is conspiring to malign her leaders by doctoring statements through Gaffar Mollah — the kingpin in the land-grabbing case who was arrested today. She also threatened to soon launch a Nandigram-Singur type agitation in Rajarhat and demanded the state government to return the “forcibly-acquired” lands to farmers.

“I have been told that the Vedic Village promoters received bank loans for purchasing land for the project. I did not know that bank loan is available for purchasing land. The chief minister and other ministers are involved,” Banerjee said, asking for a CBI inquiry into the land-grabbing allegations in the Vedic Village project, a demand promptly rejected by state Home Secretary Ardhendhu Sen.

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