The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested two key conspirators in a 2022 blast case amid an attack on the agency’s team by a crowd in West Bengal’s East Medinipore district, reports PTI.
During the incident, an NIA officer sustained injuries and a vehicle belonging to the probe agency was damaged, according to a spokesperson for the federal investigating agency.
This comes in the backdrop of a similar incident on January 5 when three officials of the Enforcement Directorate were attacked by a mob in North 24 Parganas district’s Sandeshkhali during a search on the premises of then Trinamool Congress leader Shajahan Sheikh in connection with alleged irregularities in the public distribution system.
A spokesperson of the NIA on Saturday said, “In a major breakthrough in West Bengal’s Bhupatinagar blast case, in which three persons were killed in December 2022, the NIA arrested two key conspirators amid stiff resistance from an unruly crowd in the state’s East Medinipore district.”
The accused, Balai Charan Maity and Manobrata Jana, were arrested after extensive searches at five locations, including Jana’s residence, where locals attempted to obstruct the NIA team.
The crowd tried to impede the NIA team and its security component from proceeding to the Bhupatinagar police station to complete the arrest formalities. The NIA has filed a complaint at the local police station regarding the incident.
Jana and Maity were found to have conspired to manufacture and detonate crude bombs to spread terror, the NIA spokesperson said.
The explosion at the kutcha house of Rajkumar Manna in Bhupatinagar on December 3, 2022, resulted in the deaths of three people and severe injuries to others.
Initially, the state police filed an FIR against the deceased, but the Explosive Substances Act provisions were not applied. Subsequently, a writ petition was filed before the Calcutta High Court, prompting the case’s transfer to the NIA.
The NIA took over the case on June 4, 2023, following the high court’s order dated March 21 last year and re-registered a case under various sections of law, including the Explosive Substances Act.
During the investigation, the NIA uncovered the involvement of several other accused, including Manobrata Jana of Naruabila village and Balai Charan Maity of Ninaruya Analberia. They actively participated in the conspiracy to manufacture crude bombs and provided support for the same, according to the NIA’s probe, which led to searches and arrests on Saturday.
The two arrested suspects will be presented before the Special NIA Court in Kolkata as the investigation into the case continues, the spokesperson added.