As per the statement of an official on the 8th of April, “The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has issued summons to three Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders asking them to appear before its officers for questioning in connection with the Bhupatinagar blast case.”
He further added, “The three leaders – Manab Kumar, Subir Maity and Naba Kumar Ponda – have been asked to appear before the NIA officers in Kolkata, on April 8.” The leaders have been asked to appear in the NIA’s city office on Monday morning. According to NIA officials, the TMC leaders had not appeared in the NIA office when they were asked to the previous week. The two TMC leaders who were apprehended were also “not cooperating” with the NIA officers.
On April 6, a group of NIA officials were assaulted by a mob when they had gone to apprehend two accused in the Bhupatinagar blast case of 2022 in the district of Purba Medinipur, resulting in a political dispute where Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal had condemned the officers of abusing the villagers.
In the mob assault in Bhupatingar, one NIA official was wounded and an NIA vehicle was damaged.
The assault on the NIA ensued approximately three months following an attack on a group of Enforcement Department (ED) officials by local people when they had gone to raid the house of TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh on the 5th of January who is now in custody on the relation with ration fraud.
