Two Trinamool leaders accused in Bhupatinagar blast case sent to 5-day NIA custody

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress leaders Balai Charan Maity and Monobrata Jana have been sent to five days National Investigation Agency (NIA) custody by a special court in Kolkataon Saturday.

Earlier, both the leaders were arrested by NIA from Bhuptainagar in East Midnapore district in West Bengal in connection with a blast at Bhupatibahar in December 2022, in which three persons were killed.

After presenting them at the special court, the NIA counsel informed the court that both Maity and Jana had been found to have conspired to “manufacture” and “explode” crude bombs to spread “terror”.

The NIA also informed the court that unaccounted cash worth Rs 2.36 crore have been recovered from their possession and four mobile phones have been seized from them.

Thereafter, the NIA counsel sought five days custody of the two accused, which the court granted.

On Sunday, the NIA team was attacked by a group of local people in Bhupatinagar when they were returning after detaining two Balai Charan Maity and Monobrata Jana.

This was the second attack on the central investigating agency in three months in West Bengal.

On January 5, ED and CAPF personnel were attacked by the locals in Sandeshkhali in which suspended Trinamool leader Sheikh Shahjahan was arrested

Soon after the attack, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee blamed NIA for the incident, saying that NIA had harassed the women in Bhupatinagar.