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Gazi Abbas Shahid
Starting as a ground reporter back in his home UT of Jammu and Kashmir, Gazi has been a part of the news industry for well over a decade. While he finds every type of news engrossing, politics, partic ... Read More
Amidst the backdrop of the political slugfest and ongoing row over attack on National Investigation Agency officials in West Bengal’s East Midnapore last week, a 10-member delegation of the Trinamool Congress is headed to meet Election Commission officials in New Delhi to complain about the alleged “misuse” of central investigating agencies against TMC leaders even as the NIA issued summons to three party leaders in connection with the 2022 Bhupatinagar bomb blast case.
An official said three TMC leaders– Manab Kumar Karaya, Subir Maity and Naba Kumar Ponda– have been summoned to NIA’s Kolkata office on Monday for questioning in in connection with the Bhupatinagar blast case.
The three TMC leaders had skipped similar summons from the NIA last week, the official said, adding that two arrested leaders of the Mamata Banerjee-led party were “not cooperating” with NIA officers.
Meanwhile, a 10-member TMC delegation will meet EC officials in the national capital today to the raise the issue of “misuse” of central investigating agencies against the party’s leaders and Lok Sabha candidates.
The TMC delegation led by TMC’s Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien and MP Dola Sen, is also likely to meet the full bench of the Election Commission.
“The BJP is misusing central agencies against us. The way NIA, ED and CBI are working and targeting TMC leaders is shameful. We would request the EC to ensure a level playing field for all political parties,” Sen told reporters at the airport before leaving for New Delhi.
The development comes amidst the backdrop of an alleged attack on a team of NIA officials in Purba Medinipur district on Saturday when the probe agency’s sleuths went to arrest two TMC leaders in the connection with the 2022 Bhupatinagar blast case.
The purported attack on the NIA team sparked a political slugfest between the ruling TMC in West Bengal and the BJP at the Centre with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accusing the investigators of assaulting the villagers and “misbehaving” with women.
The TMC has alleged an “unholy alliance” between the NIA and the BJP ahead of elections, prompting the central investigating agency to deny any mala fide intention and label the entire controversy as “unfortunate”.
Retorting to TMC’s accusations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleged 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.
On Sunday, West Bengal Police registered an FIR against NIA officers for alleged molestation in the Bhupatinagar incident based on a complaint filed by the wife of an arrested TMC leader. In her complaint, Moni Jani, the wife of Manobrata Jana alleged 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.
The attack on the 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.
The federal agency has refuted the allegations, asserting that Saturday’s attack on its team was “completely unprovoked”. The NIA also junked accusations of any “mala fide intention” after the TMC accused the federal probe agency of “working” at the behest of the BJP.
The attack on the NIA team happened around three months after villagers and locals assaulted a team of Enforcement Department (ED) officers when they went to raid the residence of, now arrested, TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh on January 5 in connection with the alleged ration scam.
(With PTI inputs)
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