Day After Attack On NIA Team, Probe Officials Booked For Molestation By Bengal Police

New Delhi: Day after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) team investigated the 2022 blast in West Bengal’s East Medinipur, the district police lodged charges of molestation against them. East Midnapore police filed a FIR against the NIA officers on Saturday night, citing sections 354 (molestation) and 441 (trespassing) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Bhupatinagar police station.  

The complaint was lodged by family members of the arrested accused and TMC worker Manabroto Jana. As per reports, the police received a complaint alleging that NIA officials molested women by forcibly entering their homes late at night. While on Saturday, the NIA lodged a formal complaint regarding the attack at the Bhupatinagar police station. As of now, no arrests have been made in connection with the incident. 

The NIA team faced an assault in Bhupatinagar on Saturday after the apprehension of two TMC workers linked to the explosion on December 3, 2022, which resulted in the deaths of three individuals. Two NIA personnel sustained minor injuries when their vehicle was reportedly targeted following the interrogation of Balai Maiti and Manobrata Jana, identified as key conspirators. 

A verbal clash ensued among the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the CPI(M), and the Trinamool Congress following the Bhupatinagar incident, with Opposition figures highlighting parallels with the January 5 Sandeshkhali incident in North 24 Parganas.  

Attacking a Central agency means attacking the Indian Constitution. Charging NIA officials with molestation for carrying out their duties shows breakdown of all constitutional institutions. This is a direct war against the Indian Constitution, remarked BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya. 

Chakraborty was reacting to comments by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, delivered during an election rally in Balurghat. Banerjee asserted that the attack was instigated by the NIA, not by the women... NIA officials intruding into homes late at night, what more can be anticipated? Women defending their dignity is a natural response. In 2022, there was an explosion in Bhupatinagar, and now the NIA has been sent... to create fear. The BJP's objective is to detain all our booth presidents, added Banerjee.