Violence is a common phenomenon in the political life of Bengal. Deep in the night of December 2, 2022, a bomb exploded in the house of a local Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader at Nariabelia village of Bhupatinagar area of East Mednipur, killing him along with two others. That explosion has now become the centrepiece of the tussle between the TMC and the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
In fact, right after the blast, the TMC and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had begun trading barbs, with the latter alleging that the bomb that exploded was actually being manufactured at the victim, Rajkumar Manna's home. The TMC, on the other hand, claimed it was the BJP's involvement.
Initially, the West Bengal Police had lodged an FIR on December 3, 2022, against the trio, but the FIR notably omitted the application of provisions under the Explosive Substances Act. Following this, a writ petition was presented to the Calcutta High Court, urging for the incorporation of pertinent sections of the Act and the transfer of the case to the NIA.
Responding to the high court's directive, which came out on March 21 last year, the NIA assumed jurisdiction over the matter. Subsequently, the case was re-registered under a range of legal statutes, including the Explosive Substances Act.
On Saturday, April 6, a team of the NIA arrived at the residence of Manobrata Jana, a local TMC leader from the Bhupatinagar area. But as soon as the team arrived, they were met with stiff resistance from the local crowd. As reported by the NIA, its official vehicle sustained damage as they were attempting to proceed towards Bhupatinagar police station to finalise the arrest procedures. The NIA promptly filed a complaint at the local police station regarding the incident. It is interesting to note that the way the NIA was allegedly attacked, brought to mind a similar attack on the agency on January 5 when it had gone to search the premises of Shahjahan Sheikh, the TMC leader who is at the heart of the North 24 Parganas district's Sandeshkhali incident. Sheikh was arrested later.
On Saturday, Jana along with another TMC leader, Balai Charan Maity, were arrested by the NIA, with the agency labelling the duo as 'key conspirators.'
“Manorama Jana, and the other arrested accused, identified as Balai Charan Maity, were found to have conspired to manufacture and explode crude bombs to spread terror,” the NIA had said in a statement.
The April 6 attack became another flashpoint between the TMC and BJP, with election campaigning getting fiercer day-by-day. TMC alleges that the anti-terror agency colluded with the BJP to apprehend its leaders prior to the Lok Sabha elections. Nevertheless, the NIA has rebuffed these accusations, calling the attack upon it as "completely unprovoked."
On April 8, as reported by PTI, the NIA issued summons to three other TMC leaders, Manab Kumar Karaya, Subir Maity and Naba Kumar Ponda. The trio had skipped appearing before NIA when summoned for questioning last week, while Jana and Maity were 'not cooperating' in the investigation, the anti-terror agency said today.