A team of NIA officials which was involved in the Bhupatinagar incident in West Bengal‘s East Midnapore, have been booked for alleged molestation of women by the state police following a complaint filed by the wife of an arrested TMC leader, who alleged that the agency sleuths misbehaved and “molested” women during the raid.
On Saturday, a vehicle carrying NIA officials came under attack from villagers in Bhupatinagar of East Midnapore district where the anti-terror agency had gone to conduct investigations in a 2022 blast case at the residence of a local TMC leader.
The incident sparked a political slugfest between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal and the BJP at the Centre with the former claiming the NIA had an “alliance” with the saffron party.
Here are top 10 developments in the row so far:
An FIR was registered Sunday against NIA officials for alleged molestation in the Bhupatinagar incident after the wife of an arrested TMC leader filed a complaint against them.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has asserted that Saturday’s attack on its team was “completely unprovoked” and also refuted allegations of any “mala fide intention” after the TMC accused the federal probe agency of “working” at the behest of the BJP.
TMC and BJP traded barbs over the incident in Purba Medinipur district, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging in his address at a rally in Jalpaiguri that the Mamata Banerjee-led party was “orchestrating attacks on central investigative agencies” in the state to shield its extortionist and corrupt leaders.
West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee alleged that the central agencies were being used to harass her party leaders while party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee charged that there was an “unholy alliance” between the NIA and the BJP and the Election Commission is “conspicuously silent” on the issue.
A senior police officer said the NIA team was attacked while they were on their way to West Bengal capital Kolkata after arresting two people in wee hours of Saturday morning in connection with the case.
The attack on NIA team, in which an officer sustained injuries, took place on early Saturday morning when the agency had gone to arrest TMC’s Manobrata Jana and Bailicharan Maity in connection with the 2022 Bhupatinagar blast in which three persons were killed.
Jana’s wife Moni Jana lodged a complaint with Bhupatinagar police station alleging that NIA officers tried to outrage her modesty after forcibly entering her residence on the pretext of conducting a probe She also accused the agency sleuths of vandalising her home during the raid, said a police officer.
Based on the complaint, the West Bengal Police has filed an FIR against NIA officers under IPC Section 354 (for assaulting any woman, with an intention to outrage her modesty), however, no arrests have been made in the case so far.
Meanwhile, reacting to the ongoing row, an NIA spokesperson said the entire controversy was “unfortunate” and asserted that the attack on its team was “completely unprovoked”. The agency clarified that its actions were bona fide, lawful and legally mandated, as part of its ongoing investigation into the heinous crime related to fabrication of crude bombs, leading to an explosion that killed three persons.
Following the incident, Mamata Banerjee had laid the blame on the NIA personnel for “provoking” villagers by attacking women which prompted the attack on their vehicle. “They are carrying out raids without prior information and barging into houses. What would the women do if someone entered their house when everyone was asleep in the dead of night,” Banerjee said at a poll rally on Sunday.
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