The National Investigation Agency on Saturday arrested two key conspirators in the 2022 West Bengal blast case amid an alleged attack by protesters on the investigating agency's team in East Medinipur district. As the alleged attack on the NIA revives the memory of the attack on the ED in Sandeshkhali, the BJP leader termed the attack as “direct evidence of the Taliban-minded culture of the TMC”. Hours after the attack, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata and Banerjee claimed that it was the NIA team that attacked the women in Bhupatinagar, “and not the other way around”.
NIA team attacked by mob in West Bengal – what happened so far?
– As NIA officials continued their investigations into the 2022 Bengal blast case, they were allegedly harassed in West Bengal's Purba Medinipur district on Saturday.
– Amid the alleged attack by the mob, the NIA team has arrested two key conspirators in the 2022 blast case, an official told PTI on Saturday. A spokesman for the Federal Investigation Agency said that during the incident, an NIA officer was injured and a vehicle belonging to the NIA team was damaged.
– An NIA spokesperson said: “In a major breakthrough in the Bhopatinagar blast case in West Bengal, in which three people were killed in December 2022, the NIA has arrested two key conspirators amid stiff resistance from an unruly mob in East Medinipur district. In the state.” on saturday.
– After extensive searches at various locations, the NIA team arrested Balai Sharan Maity and Manubrata Jana. NIA officials had to face resistance from local residents when they searched Gana's house.
– During the investigation, the crowd tried to prevent the NIA team and its security element from moving towards Bhopatinagar Police Station to complete the arrest procedures. The NIA has filed a complaint with the local police station in this regard, the NIA said.
– Reacting to the incident, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that the entire scenario was being distorted. The TMC blamed NIA officials for attacking villagers in Bhupatinagar in East Midnapore district and not the other way around.
She claimed that the NIA team went to villagers' homes in the early hours to investigate the “cracker explosion in 2022” incident. “The attack was not carried out by the women of Bhupatinagar, but by the National Investigation Agency (NIA),” she said at an election rally in Balurghat in South Dinajpur district.
Expressing concern over the matter, Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose termed the attack on NIA officers a “very serious matter”. Boss also said such matters should be treated “with all the seriousness they deserve.”
– “This is a very serious situation which should be dealt with with all the seriousness it deserves. This kind of 'Gondism' should not be allowed. Muscle power should not replace legal power. This should be dealt with with an iron hand,” Bose told PTI at Raj Bhavan. .
– The incident also sparked major criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party, which described the attack as evidence of the “Taliban-affiliated TMC mentality.”
“The attack on NIA officials is Sandeshkhalli 2.0 which was orchestrated by the state to create hurdles in the investigation of the bomb blast case. It was not just a coincidence but a well-thought-out experiment. It was a state-sponsored attack on NIA officials,” said BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla. “The attack was organized by the ruling Transitional Military Council.”
On the 2022 Bengal blast issue
On December 3, 2022, three people lost their lives in an explosion that destroyed a kutcha house in Rajkumar Mana in Bhupatinagar. Rajkumar Manna, Biswajit Jain and Buddhadeb Manna were seriously injured in the blast and later died.
The NIA took over the case in June 2023 based on a Supreme Court order dated March 21, 2023.
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